Jeff Metcalfe

azcentral sports

It didn't take Ray Anderson long as Arizona State's Vice President for Athletics to conclude the school was "woefully undervalued" in its athletic apparel contract.

That wasn't just in financial terms by Nike; it also was in ASU's place as a priority for the apparel company when it came to outfitting its athletic teams.

"I can tell you (ASU) wasn't No. 1 or 2 or probably 3, 4 or 5 (out of 10 Nike schools in the Pac-12)," Anderson said.

That changed dramatically Tuesday with the announcement that ASU athletes and coaches will wear Adidas apparel, footwear and accessories through 2022-23. The eight-year contract, which starts in July 2015, is worth $33.8 million or $4,225,000 annually. That amount is double what ASU is receiving in equipment and cash for 2014-15 from Nike, and it is among the top 10 nationally per data compiled by the Portland Business Journal.

"We've never been in that rarified air," said Anderson, who has been at ASU less than a year after leaving as the NFL's executive vice president of football operations. "We deserve to be there."

Anderson and Greg McElroy, ASU's athletic chief business development officer, sold Adidas on their vision for ASU's future, which includes an expanding sports lineup starting with men's hockey as a varsity sport in 2015-16; and its facilities upgrades, including a $256 million renovation of Sun Devil Stadium.

ASU will become Adidas' 12th collegiate licensing partner and its first addition since 2009. Notre Dame and Tennessee recently switched from Adidas to Under Armour and Nike, respectively.

"We would have done this had we kept Notre Dame and Tennessee," Adidas North America President Mark King said Tuesday. "If a university becomes available that's really high-profile like this, we would get in the mix and see if we could sign that school. First and foremost, it was Arizona State and Ray Anderson and Greg McElroy and the vision they have. Plus the fact it's in the Pac-12, in the Southwest and it's a massive university, so we touch a lot of people. All of those factored into it.

"We're looking to grow, and we like to be with organizations that want to grow. We're really about sport, no matter what sport it is. That's one of the things that differentiates Adidas certainly from Under Armour and to some degree from Nike. It's really who we are."

Hockey will be ASU's 23rd varsity sport. A 24th will come with the addition of a women's sport, likely lacrosse or rowing, in 2016-17 to maintain Title IX compliance.

Anderson said Adidas will outfit all ASU teams, although there will be some equipment exceptions for current deals such as the agreement the women's golf team has with Ping. Adidas owns Reebok, which manufactures hockey equipment.

ASU holds trademarks for its Sparky and pitchfork logos, which Adidas will incorporate into its team apparel starting next school year.

"We don't want to just hang out banners here and provide products," King said. "We want to experiment and to help really make the athletic experience here at Arizona State the kind that any kid would want."

Other apparel companies, including Nike, will still be licensed to sell ASU gear at retail outlets.

"All of our retail stores will have whatever gear fans desire to buy," Anderson said. "We would not be servicing our constituents broadly by just limiting our retail to one provider. We've never done that. Adidas becomes the official apparel provider, and if fans want the official licensed product, it would be Adidas. I think fans will understand that this relationship financially and otherwise makes us a top-tier program."

Football coach Todd Graham and other ASU coaches are on board with the change even though some believe it could hurt recruiting.

AJ Maestas, president of Navigate Research, which measures sports and entertainment marketing, said Nike has a perceived edge in product, service and recruiting value that can result in schools taking less money to stay with that brand.

"We're excited to have a new partnership with Adidas," Graham said. "The big thing is how bad they wanted Arizona State and how they see our program as a big-time program," Graham said. "We have a deal that's representative of what type of program we have and what type of program we're developing. That's one that's going to be a contender every year in the Pac-12 and be a top five program in the nation. That's where we're headed."

Mike Bercovici, who is expected to ASU's starting quarterback next season, said: "I'm really excited to see what they have to offer. The fact they approached us and gave us this amazing contract. I can't wait to wear the three stripes next year. I'm going to tell my whole family to buy Adidas shoes."

First-year ASU baseball coach Tracy Smith had teams outfitted by Adidas at Indiana and Miami (Ohio).

"I am very familiar with their shoes and apparel," he said. "Adidas is a prominent brand in college baseball, and I am looking forward to the renewed relationship," he said.

ASU was an Adidas school for five years through 2004 before switching to Nike, so longtime coaches such as Charli Turner Thorne in women's basketball already are familiar with the brand.

"In our previous partnership with Adidas, I can honestly say that all of our players and staff were incredibly satisfied with the quality of their products and their commitment to outstanding service," Turner Thorne said. "One of our program's biggest achievements — winning the inaugural Pac-10 Tournament in 2002 — came when we were outfitted by Adidas. We look forward to even bigger and better achievements within our program and are glad to know that Adidas will be a part of that."

Maestas, of Navigate Research, is familiar with ASU because his company has a regional office in Scottsdale.

"Our research shows most Nike schools could double (apparel revenue) if they went to serious competition," Maestas said. "It's a basic negotiating error, failing to take it right to the open market.

"This is smart of ASU and a compliment to their professional business practices."

Not everyone agrees.

Research by four sports-business professors shows that ASU now is the fourth-most-overpaid school in apparel sponsorship, behind Michigan, Kansas and UCLA.

Their study, based on factors such as metro population, median income, TV households, conference affiliation, enrollment and number of athletes, concludes that the value of ASU's annual apparel contract should be $1.996 million, close to the $2.11 million it is receiving for 2014-15 from Nike.

azcentral sports' Scott Bordow contributed to this article.

Top annual college athletic apparel contracts

1. Notre Dame (Under Armour) $9 million (estimated)

2. Michigan (Adidas) $8,200,000

3. UCLA (Adidas) $7,500,000

4. Kansas (Adidas) $6,375,000

5. x-Tennessee (Adidas) $5,550,000

6. Florida State (Nike) $4,400,000

7. Auburn (Under Armour) and Maryland (Under Armour) $4,300,000

9. y-Arizona State (Adidas) $4,225,000

10. LSU (Nike) $4,200,000

x-Tennessee is switching to Nike in 2015-16.

y-ASU's Adidas deal starts in 2015-16. It currently is with Nike for $2,110,000 in 2014-15.

Other reported Pac-12 apparel deals

Washington (Nike) $3,360,000

Oregon (Nike) $2,985,000

Utah (Under Armour) $2,416,000

Oregon State (Nike) $2,147,000

Colorado (Nike) $2,115,000

California (Nike) $1,950,000

Washington State (Nike) $1,525,000.

Stanford and USC are private schools, which are not required to reply to public information requests. Arizona's apparel contract is not available.

Source: Portland Business Journal