It’s Nike’s World; We Just Live In It

Interesting column from Greg Hansen of the Arizona Daily Star about how Nike rules the universe. Hansen went through the 122-page Sports Illustrated college football preview and found 158 examples of the Nike swoosh visible on the pages. Never in the history of commerce has there been a more effective company logo.

Among the gems from Hansen: “When Washington State recently signed its eight-year deal with Nike (worth about $12 million), the school agreed that its pay would be reduced by 45 percent if it ever failed to wear official Nike gear at a public event.”

Nike’s largesse (or is it just smart marketing?) has changed the landscape in college sports. Of the schools in the Pac-12, only UCLA is not with Nike. Oregon benefits from this through Phil Knight’s private donations, but otherwise it’s not necessarily an advantage for one school over another. It’s just advertising.

As for the highly competitive world of college football, Hansen boils it down to this: “Who’s No. 1? Nike.”