Louisville's $160 Million Shoe Contract

[dennismenace]

UCLA ‘s annual contract was almost double the 2nd on the list and about 2 1/2 Times the amount Maryland gets.
It seemed a bit strange
When you look at any types of number sets especially Stats it’s the anomalies that tell the story or rather have a story all their own.

Their recruiting has been pretty spectacular in the recent past but I don't follow the coaching changes/calibur etc. in the same time frame.

 

[dennismenace]

UA has annual revenues of about $5 billion. Spending $20 million a year on a college program to promote its brand, essentially advertising, is probably a drop in the bucket to what they spend on yearly advertising, promotions, etc. I'm sure it's worth it to them.

Thanks, forgot that the UCLA market is gigantic vs. most other programs.

 

[willie99]

Louisville is also very good in baseball and is tier 1B in women's basketball (we're the only ones in tier 1A)

So they do compete in multiple high profile sports

 

[rip7774]

Stock is down 55% in the last year. Wouldn't exactly call that "doing well".

UA cant figure out what their brand is. Nike is the flashy, premium, technology advanced brand for serious athletes and people pretending to be serious athletes or who just want to look cool. Adidas has been killing it lately because they made the smart decision that rather than compete with (basically copy) Nike at their game, they switched to a more simplistic/ minimalistic/limited branding/retro style and look. Their new models are basically socks attached to an outsole (bottom). I personally hate them but they are very popular.

Under Armour is neither of these and is "stuck in the middle". not premium and flash like Nike. And they don't have the history or retro look that Adidas has. UA started out well in apparel by producing the cold/heat gear for more hardcore sports like lacrosse and football. They still do this well, but they haven't been able to evolve from that and create their own brand/style. They pretty much just copy both adidas and nike and have failed to create anything that is uniquely UA.

You nailed it. This stock used to be a huge part of my IRA when it was newer to the market. Glad I sold when I did! The stores are often 50% off everything, they used to sell their products at a premium. I am a very loyal customer, but Curry has peaked in popularity. Not sure where they go now. They seem kinda rudderless right now but I do think the CEO will figure it out, he's a bright guy.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[Chuck]

You nailed it. This stock used to be a huge part of my IRA when it was newer to the market. Glad I sold when I did! The stores are often 50% off everything, they used to sell their products at a premium. I am a very loyal customer, but Curry has peaked in popularity. Not sure where they go now. They seem kinda rudderless right now but I do think the CEO will figure it out, he's a bright guy.

I have a good friend that met one of the founders at a small event. The founder asked him if he had any UA gear. He said he had a warm under shirt, but nothing really branded. The founder then asked if his (10 year old) son had UA gear and my friend said he had a bunch of tshirts and sweatshirs with the UA logo. The founder said "that's who we want. We don't want you... it's your son's generation that wears our stuff exclusively and won't be caught dead in Nike."

I don't think the conversation is as arrogant as it sounds. I think he was somewhat right at the time, but they didn't follow through on the position they took. My son wanted UA stuff when he was 7 and 8. Nike stuff was always on sale and UA wasn't. Adidas wasn't even in the conversation. My son is now 11+ and more brand/fashion conscious than I would like. He's very into sneakers and plays soccer and lacrosse. He even has a small sneaker blog (that he only posted to a couple times). He looks for Adidas first, then Nike, for his footwear. He won't even look at UA shoes. For fashion, he (and every boy in our town) wears a ton of Vineyard Vines stuff, then Nike, then Adidas. UA brings up the rear. The CEO needs to change the narrative.

 

[storrsroars]

Never forget what Adidas made us wear in the 2012 postseason

and the following year

You sure Cincy didn't sign a contract with Zubaz instead of Adidas?

 

[storrsroars]

My son is now 11+ and more brand/fashion conscious than I would like. He's very into sneakers and plays soccer and lacrosse. He even has a small sneaker blog (that he only posted to a couple times). He looks for Adidas first, then Nike, for his footwear. He won't even look at UA shoes. For fashion, he (and every boy in our town) wears a ton of Vineyard Vines stuff, then Nike, then Adidas. UA brings up the rear.

Not to be mean, but sounds like your kid owns you (as it seems "every boy in town" owns their parents).

 

[Chuck]

Not to be mean, but sounds like your kid owns you (as it seems "every boy in town" owns their parents).

No offense, but there is no other way to take that other than "mean." Don't question my parenting based on a paragraph on a sports message board. I'm not looking for an argument, however. There are enough of those on message boards. I'm not sure how you can come to the conclusion that my son (and every boy in town) owns their parents. Because they like certain brands? Is that a new concept that kids follow fads, and each other? The comments were about UA losing the edge it had. We do buy our son (and less brand conscious daughter) clothes and shoes and they do get to help pick stuff out. Because he really likes sneakers we give him what we feel is a reasonable budget (similar to his sister) and he can supplement that with his own money from gifts / allowance earning. I wouldn't spend my money the way he does, but that's his choice. I love that he set up the blog (with my help) to post his reviews and tips on where to find shoes for kids. If that means my son owns me, so be it I guess.