The Business of College Athletics Costs UCF A Future Deal with adidas
Posted: 11/6/2009 3:42:39 PM by
Dan Kowitz | with 0 comments
This has been a hot topic for several years and it is only getting hotter. The University of Central Florida has had an ongoing relationship with adidas and had a verbal agreement on a $3 million exclusive contract. That of course meant that the UCF men’s basketball team would be wearing adidas shoes on the court. When Marcus Jordan, Michael Jordan’s son, wore Nike shoes in the season debut this week, the issue boiled over. Representatives from adidas have now said there will be no deal with UCF.
The question is: Who is really in command of college athletics and who should be? Is it the school, the athletes or the corporate partners? If you follow the money trail it is pretty easy to see who is in command. Scenarios like this come at a time when a recently released survey by the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics revealed that less than 25 percent of major college presidents think that the current system of funding athletics is sustainable.
Seems to me that the schools, athletes and companies need to stop using each other and form true partnerships. Partnerships are about give and take so that each party can gain from the relationship. Personally, this move by adidas makes me want to go out and buy a pair of Nikes.
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Filed under: sports