ANN ARBOR -- Back in 1994, Michigan and Nike were an epicenter in college athletic's seismic shift to a gilded age of commercialization.

Twenty-one years later, the swoosh and the blue are back together again.

Michigan announced Monday it has reached an agreement in principle with Nike to become the Wolverines' official athletic footwear, apparel and equipment provider to all 31 of U-M's athletic programs until 2027, with an option to extend the deal to 2031.

Financial terms of the deal will not be made available until July 13.

Michigan will continue to wear Adidas through the 2015-16 academic year before transitioning to Nike in July 2016. The changeover will be complete in August 2016. Fans won't be able to purchase any U-M Nike gear until that time.

"After careful consideration, the right partner for the University of Michigan was Nike," Michigan interim athletic director Jim Hackett said in Monday's press release. "This decision, this partnership is about more than Michigan athletics; at the core, it is about our University community and it is about two great names reuniting for an opportunity that speaks to more than uniforms and apparel.

"Nike is a recognized leader in its field when it comes to product innovation and we look forward to future collaboration."

Monday's announcement marked the second major move of Hackett's short tenure as U-M AD, joining his dismissal of former football coach Brady Hoke and hiring of current coach Jim Harbaugh.

The deal marks a reunion of sorts for two of definitive brands in sport. When Michigan signed a $1 million a year deal with Nike in 1994, a new revenue stream was opened for athletic departments across the country. School apparel deals were unheard of prior to the deal. Now they're vital to every Division I school's athletic budget.

Prior to 1994, it was common for college teams in the same athletic department to wear different uniforms -- say, the football team in Russell, the basketball team in Champion, the soccer team in Adidas, etc. Basketball sneakers, meanwhile, were dictated by whatever company the program's coach had a six-figure contract with. At some major Division I programs, coaches were paid more by shoe companies than by their school.

Then came October 1994. Not coincidently after the Fab Five -- those knee-length shorts, those black Nikes -- changed what basketball looked like, U-M athletic director Joe Roberson negotiated college sports first team-wide contract. The terms netted new jerseys, shoes and equipment for all 25 Wolverines athletic teams and $7 million for the athletic department over the six-year contract.

It was a landmark moment in college sports going corporate.

In January 2001, then-Michigan athletic director Bill Martin turned that original contract into a massive seven-year agreement between Nike and U-M valued at $28 million, surely aided by the Wolverines' 1997 football national title.

The Nike swoosh was a staple of the Michigan uniforms worn by Charles Woodson and the Wolverines of the mid-to-late 1990s.

Michigan and Nike ended the 13-year partnership after the 2007-08 season. Amid contention between the two sides over Nike labor standards in its factories, deep-pocketed Adidas laid out an eight-year contract worth $7.5 million annually in cash and merchandise. Nike, which held a contractual right to match the deal and retain U-M, walked away. Michigan enjoyed a $6.5 million signing bonus and annual $3.8 million payouts for the agreement. The funds were promptly earmarked for renovations to Crisler Arena and to maintain department's self-sufficiency.

The Michigan-Adidas deal was announced in July 2007. The Wolverines went from swoosh to stripes in August 2008. At the time they joined Indiana, Nebraska, Notre Dame (now with Under Armour), Tennessee (Nike), Wisconsin and UCLA as top athletic departments with Adidas contracts.

GALLERY: A look back at Michigan's Adidas uniforms over the years

That deal featured one clause that, at the time, was treated as little more than a parenthetical aside. Michigan negotiated the right to demand any future terms that Adidas offered any other university athletic department. A shrewd arrangement, it assured U-M would be Adidas' highest-paid school for the length of the deal.

Michigan experimented with some alternate uniforms during its 2008-2015 contract with Adidas, such as this look worn by quarterback Denard Robinson against Michigan State in 2011. Some were well received. Others were not.

Thanks to that, the contract has risen to $8.2 million annually for Michigan. Adidas currently is paying $4.4 million in equipment and apparel, and $3.8 million in cash. According to a 2014 study by Portland Business Journal,

it is the most lucrative public apparel deal in the country

, topping Nike's deals with Texas, Alabama, LSU and Oregon.

Notre Dame, a private university, lays claim to richest outfitting deal in collegiate sports. A 10-year agreement signed with Under Armour in January 2014 is worth over $90 million.

Michigan's years with Adidas, though financially fruitful for the department, drew mixed reviews from the fan base. While some alternate jerseys were well received, others were not.

Recent years also saw Adidas get passed by Under Armour as the second-largest sportswear brand in the United States, according to analysts at Sterne Agee.

According to U-M's release, the new partnership between Michigan and Nike will be multilayered and including student internships at Nike headquarters and community events.

"The University of Michigan ranks high among the world's great institutions of higher learning and enjoys a rich, tradition-laden history in college sports." Joaquin Hidalgo, vice president and general manager of Nike North America, said in the release. "Nike is especially proud to partner with the Wolverines and have the opportunity once again to work with Michigan student-athletes, coaches, and staff. We eagerly look forward to bringing out the best in each other."

Michigan's newfound relationship with Nike finds the Wolverines at a delicate crossroads.

When Michigan switched over to Adidas in July 2007, U-M football was coming off an 11-2 season, a trip to the Rose Bowl and nine straight bowl-eligible seasons. Basketball, however, was reeling on a nine-year NCAA tournament drought and had just introduced in third new coach, John Beilein, in 10 years.

Nike is inheriting a very different set of circumstances in 2015. Since coach Lloyd Carr's retirement in 2007, Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke combined to go 46-42 over the past seven football seasons, including a 24-32 mark in the Big Ten. Now the program rests atop a pillar of hope named Harbaugh. Basketball, meanwhile, is 119-56 over the past five years with four NCAA tournament appearances (2011-2014), including a national title game run in 2013, and six NBA draft picks since 2011.

Part of Michigan's new deal with Nike includes the Wolverines use of the Jordan Brand "Jumpman" apparel and footwear for men's and women's basketball.

Brendan F. Quinn covers University of Michigan basketball and football. Follow him on Twitter for the latest on Wolverines hoops. He can be contacted at bquinn@mlive.com