Concerns and praise raised as history-making pact gets underway
WASHINGTON
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and
sporting goods giant Nike announced last month, that they have signed a
historic, three-year agreement that will not only provide footwear and
apparel for conference teams, but also will include summer internships
for students at Nike headquarters.
It is the first time that Nike has worked with historically Black
institutions as a group. It also is only the second time the company
has entered into a comprehensive partnership with an NCAA conference —
the other involving Big 10 women’s basketball.
“What this agreement does is, we don’t have to buy shoes and some
apparel and we get other apparel at wholesale cost,” said Charles S.
Harris, commissioner of the conference. “Practically, this reduces what
institutions have to spend in real money. Ideally, the money is … put
back into the program, into facilities, staffing, or whatever. It
benefits student athletes.”
“We are thrilled to partner with the MEAC,” said Kit Morris,
director of college sports marketing for Nike. “The MEAC has long been
a conference committed to excellence in collegiate athletics. Nike
shares that drive and eagerly looks forward to further [growth] over
the next three years.”
The deal provides footwear and apparel for conference football and
women’s basketball teams. It also provides opportunities for the
company to outfit championship teams and promote its products at
conference events. Additionally, each school receives a discount on
other merchandise purchased from Nike.
Neither the MEAC nor Nike would discuss the financial terms of the
deal. But others estimate the savings, in terms of footwear and
apparel, amounts to between $15,000 and $20,000 per school — making
the annual sum value of that part of the deal between $165,000 and
$240,000.
