The evolution of college sports into a more professionalized entity may soon take another step: jersey patches.
While jersey patches are still prohibited under NCAA rules, college leaders have spent months considering a change to permit patches on football and men’s basketball jerseys and even on the uniforms of game officials.
In anticipation of a rule change, in fact, the industry’s multi-media rights giant, Learfield, plans to announce an initiative, Performance Partner Alliance, to help deliver a jersey patch solution for its schools.
Why is a solution necessary? Jersey patches are not only, for now, against NCAA rules, but apparel partners such as Nike, Adidas and Under Armour have existing contracts with schools that prohibit other branding on jerseys and uniforms.