Thursday, April 17, 2014, was a magnificent day for University of Louisville leadership and their partners at Adidas. Together, the school and the brand announced a five-year, $39 million extension of a contractual affiliation that would cement Louisville as a showcase “Adidas school.” The contract dictated that Cardinals teams, coaches, trainers, staff and—most importantly—players would wear Adidas everything. Uniforms. Sneakers. Game-day warm-ups. Basketball shooting shirts. Football player capes. Headwear. Jackets. If it could be worn, it would say Adidas.
The announcement fortified the perception that the Louisville athletic department had arrived. A year removed from the men’s basketball team winning the NCAA tournament, Louisville negotiated the second-largest university athletics branding deal the German-based apparel company had ever signed.