SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference and adidas have entered into a three-year partnership in which the Portland, Ore., based company will be the official athletic footwear, apparel and accessory brand of the SoCon through the 2018-19 season.
adidas will supply the SoCon with student-athlete gifts, coach and administrator gifts, promotional items for distribution to corporate partners and outerwear for conference staff members. Additionally, the SoCon will carry adidas items for sale at select championship events.
“This is a significant step forward for the Southern Conference,” said Commissioner John Iamarino. “We’re delighted to partner with adidas, which is unquestionably one of the premier athletic brands in the world.”
“We look forward to our partnership with the SoCon and helping them continue their tradition as innovators and emphasizing the development of student-athletes,” said Jim Murphy, Director of NCAA Sports Marketing for adidas America. “This new partnership continues to demonstrate our commitment to U.S. college sports and aligning with championship teams and athletes.”
adidas is a global designer, developer and marketer of athletic footwear, apparel and accessories with the mission to make all athletes better. adidas is the official uniform, footwear and apparel provider for more than 100 collegiate programs including Arizona State, Indiana, Kansas, Louisville, Miami, Mississippi State, Nebraska, NC State, Texas A&M and UCLA. adidas has marketing agreements with the National Basketball Association (NBA), National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB) and Major League Soccer (MLS).
The Southern Conference, in its 95th season of intercollegiate competition, is a national leader in emphasizing the development of the student-athlete and helping build lifelong leaders and role models. The conference has been on the forefront of innovation and originality in developing creative solutions to address issues facing intercollegiate athletics. From establishing the first conference basketball tournament (1921), to tackling the issues of freshman eligibility (1922), to developing women’s championships (1984), to becoming the first conference to install the 3-point goal in basketball (1980), the Southern Conference has been a pioneer. The Southern Conference is the nation’s fifth-oldest NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association.
The conference currently consists of 10 full-time members in six states throughout the Southeast and sponsors 20 varsity sports and championships that produce participants for NCAA Division I Championships.
-www.SoConSports.com-