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Last updated on Tuesday, August 18, 2015
(BLOOMINGTON) - Indiana has extended its apparel contract with Adidas in a deal that will nearly double the company’s annual payment to the Hoosiers from $3.7 million to $6.7 million, Director of Athletics Fred Glass confirmed to The Indianapolis Star on Monday.
According to IU, the deal worth $53.6 million over eight years is one of the five richest publicly known apparel deals in college athletics.
The deal will also help the Hoosiers ensure that "crimson and cream" are the same hues across all 24 IU sports.
According to a database compiled by the Portland Business Journal, that annual payout would rank the Hoosiers third nationally in apparel deals for the 2014-15 academic year, behind Michigan and UCLA.
IU and Adidas have been partners in apparel over numerous spells in the department's history, their current deal dating to 2004. This extension will ensure that relationship continues through at least 2024, and it makes Indiana one of Adidas' most high-profile customers, after Michigan and Notre Dame defected for competitors in the last two years.
The deal will increase Adidas' annual payment to IU by 81 percent, allocate extra funds both parties can use for "co-marketing" and provide alternate uniforms and helmets for Indiana's football program. Adidas will also provide an optional alternate uniform for the Hoosiers' men's basketball program each year.
Glass said every IU program "will receive more apparel as a result of this deal."
Additionally, the Germany-based company will conduct a "full branding audit" of IU's uniforms and apparel, to ensure greater consistency in color and design creating a more uniform look within the department.
As collegiate apparel deals have exploded financially in recent years, they have come to illustrate the status and power of individual programs' brands. Michigan's record-breaking 15-year, $169 million contract with Nike is the latest example.
While Indiana was willing to listen to offers from Nike and Under Armour, the extension with Adidas -- on improved terms -- won out. The deal will further expand annual revenues, which climbed north of $84 million in Bloomington last year.
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