Nuggets from the AJC: AD Todd Stansbury said he is in the early stages of gauging interest from Adidas, Nike and Under Armour and hopes to have a decision on the athletic department’s next apparel deal in the next few months.
“So that, one, recruits can know what’s going on, coaches can know what’s going on and we can start to make plans for whatever transition we need to make,” Stansbury said.
Stansbury is well aware of the marketing and design might that Nike would bring to a partnership. He has a relationship with the company from his time at Oregon State, a Nike school. He was executive associate AD when Nike went through a re-design process, including logos and colors, that debuted in 2013 after his departure to UCF. Nike was also the outfitter for UCF during Stansbury’s tenure as AD at the school 2012-15.
Upstart Under Armour made a splash last year signing UCLA to a record $280 million deal over 15 years. The company also has Notre Dame, Auburn and South Carolina under contract, along with its flagship, Maryland. Stansbury was teammates at Tech with Sammy Huntley, a vice president at Under Armour.
“I think it’s always helpful to have somebody that is in a leadership role, even if (Huntley) may not be directly engaged,” Stansbury said.
Tech also played a critical role in the story of Under Armour’s rise. Tech reportedly gave company founder and CEO Kevin Plank his first big sale in 1996, a deal that kept him from going broke. Under Armour is seen as being strategic in choosing its partners, and it’s conceivable that the company’s technical orientation could match well with Tech.
The brand has two ACC partners, Notre Dame and Boston College.
In recent years, Adidas has lost some big fish such as Nike, Notre Dame and Wisconsin, but its reduced standing could help Tech from a recruiting perspective, at least in basketball. Adidas remains strong in AAU basketball circles, and, to the extent that shoe companies and AAU teams exert influence on prospects to sign with colleges with the same apparel deal, having fewer Adidas colleagues could benefit coach Josh Pastner. The company also began supplying cleats to the Tech baseball team this past season.
Adidas’ ACC clientele – Louisville, Miami, N.C. State.
Interesting to note: the Tech athletics online store has 13 items from Under Armour, 12 from Nike and one from Adidas.
Stansbury undoubtedly will be interested in each brand beyond what it offers on the bottom line. He has placed a high priority on ensuring that Tech develops an identifiable brand , and its apparel partner can go a long way to that end. An apparel provider that is equally committed to elevating Tech’s brand is of primary importance, he said.
“I think when we do make a transition, there’s going to be a lot of excitement from our alumni and our base,” Stansbury said, “and obviously, we’ll have an opportunity to really do some things in Atlanta that we may not have been able to do before, and so I think that having somebody that sees that and wants to take advantage of that is going to be really important.”
Link
http://www.ajc.com/sports/college/tech-w...yqNvXn1IL/
Link
http://www.myajc.com/sports/college/tech...2eQlPNIHJ/
Link
http://www.myajc.com/sports/college/weig...3KAqtHyyN/
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What apparel company will Georgia Tech sign with?
![[Image: CvETstVWEAAN0l2.jpg]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CvETstVWEAAN0l2.jpg)
just got 
