Timing was paramount, and just about ideal, for the Washington athletic department in its efforts to maximize its new 10-year sponsorship deal with Adidas.
The Huskies’ return to national prominence in football under Chris Petersen, and the men’s basketball program’s bounce-back season this winter with first-year coach Mike Hopkins, strengthened UW’s marketing brand and were significant factors in Adidas’ willingness to offer one of the top sponsorship deals in college athletics.
UW announcement its agreement with Adidas on Tuesday morning. The timing could not have been much worse.
On Tuesday afternoon, federal prosecutors added more criminal fraud charges in an indictment against former Adidas executive James Gatto, who allegedly made cash payments to former basketball players at Kansas, Louisville, N.