Nike unveils Championship Uniforms
- Thread starter zannmann
- Start date
I hate that Oregon didn't show their school colors for this game. They should have went all white with Green helmets or something.
Agreed. This isn't a random Saturday mid-season and you want to show off some new threads. This is the NC game. Wear your colors.
Moreover, recruits will eat this up and love it........especially if they win. Things change.
Oregon is the prime example of what full administration support for a program can do. They have gotten the fans, boosters, and players to buy in, but it has not been a quick overnight process.
I was listening to Mark Packer and Rick Neuheisel on XM radio yesterday. Rick (who was the head coach at Colorado at the time) was talking about how after their trips to the Rose bowl (lost) and Cotton bowl (lost to Rick's Colorado team) in the mid 90's the boosters and administration got together and the boosters basically said what is it going to take to win the whole thing. Since then the school has been investing vigorously, marketing nation wide, and creating a brand (i.e. uniforms) for the program and it has finally paid off.
It sounds crazy, but the uniforms have become one of Oregon's biggest marketing campaigns. So much so that it will probably be discussed in marketing text books one day, if not already. It really has become an amazing asset for them.
I was listening to Mark Packer and Rick Neuheisel on XM radio yesterday. Rick (who was the head coach at Colorado at the time) was talking about how after their trips to the Rose bowl (lost) and Cotton bowl (lost to Rick's Colorado team) in the mid 90's the boosters and administration got together and the boosters basically said what is it going to take to win the whole thing. Since then the school has been investing vigorously, marketing nation wide, and creating a brand (i.e. uniforms) for the program and it has finally paid off.
It sounds crazy, but the uniforms have become one of Oregon's biggest marketing campaigns. So much so that it will probably be discussed in marketing text books one day, if not already. It really has become an amazing asset for them.
How and who decides what uniform Oregon is wearing for their games? I don't think they wore the same uniform twice all season. They have some cool uniforms but way too many options. How do you even keep track of all of those as an equipment manager?
I'd be slightly bothered by this as an Oregon fan/player/alum that your first national title game will not even feature your actual colors. This would be like Kentucky wearing no blue at all. I'm also, perplexed why Oregon is wearing the away uniforms as the higher seed? Odd.
I'd be slightly bothered by this as an Oregon fan/player/alum that your first national title game will not even feature your actual colors. This would be like Kentucky wearing no blue at all. I'm also, perplexed why Oregon is wearing the away uniforms as the higher seed? Odd.
Phil Knight, the founder of Nike, calls the shots around the Oregon football program. At least in terms of their uniforms and facilities which he pretty much built and paid for. UK needs a Phil Knight sugar daddy type dedicated to football. Basketball can take care of itself these days. Which is likely part of the reason the university finally decided to make a heavy investment in the football program.
Oregon wore gray, white and gray with highlighter yellow #'s and socks/shoes in their title game vs Auburn a few years ago.
So even then, they didn't go with green.
The Oregon uniform is freaking amazing! I love what Oregon does with uniforms. And I know that the recruits go nuts over it. Why do you think the UK players went nuts over the all black unis or the silver helmet? It's fun! It psyches up the players. Enough said.
Wrong! Oregon is the prime example of what happens when your biggest booster is the founder and chairman of Nike and worth over $20 billion. Phil Knight has gifted Oregon over $1 billion...yes more than $1 billion dollars. And that's just in the past 6 months! It doesn't count the $100's of millions he has poured into their program in prior years. (Not all of that money has gone to athletics but a substantial sum has done so)
Phil Knight donated $68 million to UO to build a 145,000 sq ft football facility in 2013. He basically financed their $200 million basketball arena in 2010... in 2007 he gave their K-Fund equivalent a $100 million gift...in 2002 he gave them $30 million to expand their football stadium... To put that all in perspective, Joe Craft, UK's biggest/wealthiest donor gave $6.5 million for construction of the Craft Center which is UK Athletics largest single donation. The largest donation for the new football facility being built at UK is $1 million.
UO doesn't need to lobby the state for bonding because "Uncle Phil" will personally finance pretty much whatever they want.
It's pretty easy to "invest" when the world's 23rd richest man is your ATM. When you read "University of Oregon boosters" you are essentially saying "Phil Knight" because Phil Knight > All remaining boosters combined...and it's not even close.
It's easy to say..."We should do what Oregon is doing..."...problem is Oregon has one man who is probably worth more than the entire net worth of the 100 largest UK boosters combined and who freely donates his money. Without Phil Knight Oregon wouldn't be doing a fraction of what they do. Kudos to their administration for cashing his checks!
Oregon has a great program and solid leadership and commitment to success. However, haviung the leader of one of the 4 or 5 most powerful brands in the country/world probably helps out. Without Phil Knight, nothing really happens.
Imagine if Phil Knight was a UK booster.
So did you miss the whole point of what I was saying, or are you just wanting to argue?
My unborn son knows that Phil Knight is the founder of Nike.... Everyone knows that.
The point is Phil Knight isn't a one man football team. Everything he, the administration, and fans have built over the prior 20 years has made them a national brand. Nothing in my statement was that UK should do what Oregon is or has done. Honestly you pretty much said it yourself. We can't do it. We don't have the major deep pocket boosters and also we are not Oregon. We are UK, our own brand, and unfortunately we've had a one sighted administration over the years, but that is changing. Finally we are pursuing boosters to not build for basketball, but for football. Sure we don't have Nike money, but we aren't homeless Eddies either.
I was attempting to tie it into the thread title and to stay on topic: Nike unveils Championship Uniforms. I was simply stating that the uniforms that everyone always talks about like a broken record are doing their job marvelously. Making people all over the country talk and take notice. And by looking at their product on the field it seems they've gotten the players, staff, support to reach where every team wants to be. Uniforms alone have not done this, but they have also not hurt them neither. Along with the Nike money comes the advice and expertise of a man that built, you guessed it, Nike. He didn't do that without knowing how to get his brand out to the masses.
If you think Oregon has gotten to where they are now by simply "cashing a check".... well bless your heart.
Nike was sponsor of all the final four teams. So they got all 4 teams to have 'special' uni's for the playoff. Since the other 3 schools were big on tradition and you have to look close to see anything different in their uni's, Im sure thats why Oregon went the other way and tried to come up with the most un-traditional look they could.
