Grand Canyon University inks 5-year deal with apparel/footwear giant Nike
May 27, 2015, 2:27 PM | Updated: 3:28 pm
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Go ahead and add Grand Canyon University to the list of schools that Nike outfits with apparel and footwear.
After two years as a Division I program, GCU now finds itself in the company of such perennial Top-25 powers as Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio State, Texas and Stanford — as far as apparel is concerned.
A five-year deal between the parties was announced Wednesday by Jerry Colangelo, a special consultant for Division I athletics at GCU.
“When you talk about world brands, they don’t get much bigger than Nike,” he said. “It’s a good feeling to know that just in our third year of our journey to become eligible for the postseason tournament…we’ve already been kind of picked out and selected and highlighted because this deal is as good as a lot of the schools in the Big East…and certainly compares very favorably with all the mid-majors.”
GCU is not eligible for NCAA postseason play until it completes the four-year transition period in 2017-18.
Nike, according to a recent collegiate apparel database compiled by the Portland Sports Business Journal, outfits 44 of the 65 power conference schools.
The industry leader in sports brand wear will dress the entire GCU athletic program, all 22 sports.
“Before Gonzaga was Gonzaga, Nike had a deal with them. Before Butler was Butler, Nike had a deal with them. Before VCU and Wichita State and George Mason were tournament teams, they were with Nike,” Eric Lautenbach, senior director of college basketball sports marketing for Nike, said. “One day I could be referencing Grand Canyon when I talk about our relationships with schools that set no limits on the championships they pursue.”
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“It’s worth a whole bunch,” said Colangelo, a long-time friend of Nike founder and chairman Phil Knight, who was an early investor with the Arizona Diamondbacks when Colangelo was the managing partner.
The Nike name and Swoosh logo are not only instantly recognizable, but often coveted by those students athletic programs seek, the high school athlete.
Wearing Nike, for many, is a status symbol.
“It’s big. I’ve been a Nike guy since ’88, so I really value their company,” head men’s basketball coach Dan Majerle said. “For now it to be a Nike-school and to know that the best shoe company in the world believes in our product, it only makes our product that much stronger. It really is a big tool for our recruiting.”
