Tommie sports teams to wear only Nike starting in July

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All University St. Thomas varsity sports teams will wear Nike for at least three years, beginning with the 2016-2017 academic year. Until now, the university had to find its own suppliers for sports apparel and equipment. (Taylor Smith/TommieMedia)
All University of St. Thomas varsity sports teams will wear Nike for at least three years, beginning with the 2016-2017 academic year. Until now, the university had to find its own suppliers for sports apparel and equipment. (Taylor Smith/TommieMedia)

The University of St. Thomas Athletic Department announced a three-year deal with sports gear wholesaler Eastbay, which will supply the university’s varsity sports teams with exclusively Nike apparel, jerseys and equipment starting on July 1.

Prior to signing the deal, each of the university’s varsity sports teams had to find its own supplier and brand, leading to variations in logos and color shades. Associate Athletic Director Michelle Morgan said the new deal comes with many perks.

“The partnership was established to better align the St. Thomas athletics brand and identity across all varsity sports,” Morgan said.

She added that the deal with Eastby will also bring “budget savings and enhanced customer service and billing with one single vendor.”

Eastbay, which is based in Wausau, Wisconsin, offers the university discounts in exchange for the teams’ agreement to wear Nike. But the contract also serves to standardize the St. Thomas uniform.

“I think it shows that St. Thomas has a unified, polished look that mimics the other divisions of the NCAA where apparel contracts are had with most member schools,” Morgan said.

Men’s hockey captain Thomas Williams thinks the deal with Eastbay and Nike will give St. Thomas a much-needed advantage.

“If you look at all the big schools, you see that all the teams are wearing the same brand. And it looks very official, along with bringing a sense of unity to all the athletes,” Williams said. “I think that this deal distinguishes us from other programs within the MIAC.”

Football coach Glenn Caruso has outfitted his team with the Nike brand for the past eight years and sees athletes drawn to those products.

“I think people know that Nike is a standard, particularly in college football,” Caruso said.

Some other schools that have similar agreements with Eastbay and Nike are NDSU (NCAA Division I), UW – Eau Claire (NCAA Division III), Grand Canyon (NCAA Division I) and Cal State – San Bernardino (NCAA Division III).

The softball team is currently under contract with Adidas, and cannot make the switch to Nike until their 2017-18 season.

The university’s agreement with Eastbay and Nike is set to expire after the 2018-2019 academic year.

Taylor Smith can be reached at smit9660@stthomas.edu.