The Midwest regional is fruitful for Adidas with half the teams sporting the three stripes. Sadly, with even odds, Kentucky’s surprise run as the eighth seed wearing Nike eclipsed the resurgence of Michigan and their Adidas.
With knowledge of the Final Four teams, Wisconsin (#2 in the West) is the sole Adidas team still standing. Looking at pictures from the games, many Nike teams are wearing the new HyperRev and LeBron’s Zoom Solider 7.
In 2013, three of the top regional seeds wore Adidas. 2014 is all Nike in the top spots. Florida, Wichita State, Arizona, and Virginia all bow to the goddess Nike.
The three seeds and a run from 7 to 10 all belong to Nike yielding six locks this year. The second seed has the most (and highest ranked) Adidas (Kansas, Wisconsin, and Michigan).
How’s the sneaker distribution look across the different conferences in 2014?
The Big 12 brought the heat this year, leading with seven nods. The Atlantic 10, the ACC, and the Pac-12 also flexed their muscles with six teams each. The Big Ten brought in the most Adidas teams with three (Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Michigan).
Had Hawaii made a run in Big West, there would be one more Adidas entry instead of Cal Poly’s Nike. For the 2014-2015 season, I’m thinking Hawaii should rep these Adidas to showcase the Aloha State.
Wait, wait, wait, what’s going on here? On the surface, the kicks sponsorship of this year’s NCAA tournament looks favorable for Nike.
Seventy percent of the dancing 64 are adorned with the swoosh, followed distantly by Adidas’28%, and the single team (Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks) with Under Armour. Seventy percent of the teams is darn good right? Hold up NKE stockholders, let’s check the trend over the years.
With a high point in 2011, Nike’s numbers have been dropping year after year, slightly, but dropping nonetheless to Adidas’ gain. A concern or a just the craziness of March Madness?
It’s all wins for Adidas, and the victory for Adidas was already determined before the actual game as both Louisville and Michigan were decked out in Adidas gear.
Even with its NBA pedigree and support from Kate Upton, the Wolverines couldn’t hold off the talented and relentless Cardinal squad. Props to Louisville and their Adidas camo uniforms.
Going back to 1999, the championship kicksology looks like:
From these 15 years, the championship score is 1 for Reebok, 2 for Adidas, and 12 for Nike.
And of course, the obligatory One Shining Moment.
From a sneaker perspective, it is over. Adidas has done it again, beating the odds. Representing 20% of the teams in the field of 64, Adidas now represents 100% of the 2013 Finalists with both Michigan and Louisville playing for the championship.
Talk about “All in for March,” Adidas got it right with their teams all in for the championship.
The same has happened in 2013. Starting with three quarters of all the teams wearing Nike, the Final Four comes down to Wichita St. and Syracuse representing Nike and Louisville and Michigan wearing Adidas.
Can Adidas and their camo-based looks prevail?
Continuing the trend of bright and bold team colors of 2012, twenty thirteen also mixed in retro kicks, primarily from a guy named Jordan. Overall, I like the chance Adidas took with their camo-based unis. I particularly thought the mint green of Notre Dame was something you had to stare at (for good or bad). Here’s the matching Crazy Fast in Green Zest.
Miami rocked crazy colors with no one team shoe.
And if your team colors happen to match that of the Chicago Bulls, it’s BRED all day baby!
The 2013 Sweet 16 featured 11 Nike teams, 4 Adidas team, and one sole Under Armour team. The Elite 8 numbers go 6 Nike and 2 Adidas.
Seed, Team, Shoe
1, Louisville, Adidas
2, Duke, Nike
9, Wichita St., Nike
2, Ohio St., Nike
4, Michigan, Adidas
3, Florida, Nike
4, Syracuse, Nike
3, Marquette, Nike
Adidas is represented by the sole and overall number one seed Louisville so there’s a good chance the three stripes will beat the swoosh-y odds.
This year’s Sweet 16 looks like this:
And the kicksy math comes out to 25% to Adidas, 6% to Under Armour, and therefore, 69% to Nike. This somewhat mirrors the original distribution of 20% to Adidas, 5% to Under Armour, and 75% to Nike.
Nike doesn’t seem to be making a large advertisement push for the tournament. Adidas has their All In for March motto along with their camo uniforms which I’m digging.
The West and the South Regionals have the most tumultuous results with many underdog pulling off upsets. Must be the presence of Under Armour kicks? Or maybe not.
Not much I can discern from these regional sponsorships other than I may have to change out this kicks analysis next year.
Even though three quarters of the teams in the tournament are wearing Nike’s swoosh, the top seeds in each region show a different trend. Three of the four top seeds wear Adidas. Now that’s representing the three stripes of Adidas, Louisville, Kansas, and Indiana! Gonzaga was the sole Swoosher at Number 1, and the Bulldogs have already been eliminated. So if one of the other top seeds prevail then Adidas can add another championship to their brand.
In 2013, Nike has a lock of 5 seeds – #2, #3, #12, #15, and #16. Adidas nor Under Armour have any locks this year. In 2012, Nike also had five locks, and Adidas had one at #4.