UCLA to make switch from Reebok to Adidas

Monday, August 31, 1998

UCLA to make switch from Reebok to Adidas

MARKETING: Attention, cash play role in decision to change
athletic vendors

By Greg Lewis

Daily Bruin Staff

The Reebok years are over. UCLA and Adidas America have reached
an agreement on a multi-year sports marketing partnership that will
begin on July 1, 1999.

As part of the deal, Adidas will provide equipment and apparel
for UCLA’s 21 intercollegiate teams, the UCLA spirit squad and the
UCLA Recreation Department, in addition to cash payments. Adidas
will, in turn, be the exclusive licensee of Bruin athletic
clothing.

Nike and Adidas were actively competing for the UCLA deal, but
Adidas finally won out, inking the new six-year agreement for an
undisclosed dollar amount. In addition to providing equipment for
UCLA Athletics, Adidas will also contribute educational, marketing
and promotional support and create several internship opportunities
for students.

"This (agreement) is the culmination of many months of internal
discussions, planning and analysis," said Pete Dalis, athletic
director at UCLA.

"We invited proposals from all qualified and interested parties.
In the end, Adidas’ response and ancillary marketing and
promotional support best met the needs of the university. Reebok
has, and will continue to be a wonderful partner, and we are proud
to use their product until the new agreement begins."

With the new Adidas agreement, many team uniforms will probably
be redesigned, and there will be a especially strong emphasis on
increasing sales of UCLA athletic clothing. Adidas will provide all
UCLA athletic teams the opportunity to meet with designers to
develop each sports’ own customized look. Unlike many other
manufacturers that provide the same design to every school but just
change the color, no other university in the country will have the
same look as UCLA.

UCLA Athletics will receive an annual allowance for equipment
and apparel and cash payments.

A significant percentage of these payments will help defray
costs of the Morgan Center renovation.

Public relations director Travis Gonzalez of Adidas America
feels that the reason the Adidas deal was more attractive then the
Nike offer was not money, but rather the personal attention that
the school would get from Adidas.

"Adidas offered more intangibles then Nike did. The (UCLA)
Athletic Department was looking at the whole picture, including
individualized attention, not just the dollar amount."

Robert Erb, director of sports marketing for Adidas said, "When
a school enters a partnership with Adidas, they know that they
aren’t one out of 50 or even one out of 25, they are one of only
five Adidas all-school partnerships. UCLA is the fifth and final
school to sign an apparel contract with Adidas. The other schools
are Notre Dame, Tennessee, Nebraska and Northwestern."

Gonzalez went on to say that Adidas will have multiple
representative remain full-time on the UCLA campus in order to make
sure the needs of all coaches, trainers and athletes are met. These
representatives will also work closely with the athletic department
and campus representatives to plan events and promotional
activities. While there are no events planned for the near future,
Gonzalez assured that there will be many Adidas special events to
look forward to.