Jackets enter the Adidas era
ATLANTA- After decades with Russell, Georgia Tech enters a new stretch of history with Adidas formally announcing a branding partnership and apparel deal on Tuesday at McCamish Pavilion. Jackets athletic director Todd Stansbury and Adidas director of NCAA Marketing Jim Murphy fielded questions from the media long with current Tech coaches Danny Hall (baseball), Josh Pastner (men's basketball) and MaChelle Joseph (women's basketball).
Stansbury said out of the gate this was the first project he was working on after taking over as Athletic Director last fall.
"This was at the top of the list and it is one of the things I said along the way, the refinement and elevation of the Georgia Tech brand is one of my top priorities. Having an apparel partner is a significant piece of that. The day after I was announced and well before I started my first day we were honed in on what we were going to do and had started conversations with Adidas on how we could make this happen," Stansbury said.
The new deal won't begin until July 1, 2018, but the wheels are in motion for a new marketing approach and some unification of the Tech brand.
"Part of the process in finding a partner was finding someone that would make it a priority and provide the bandwidth to make sure we refined the brand and elevated the brand and would work jointly to make sure when you see the GT it is the one color of gold. That we will name Tech gold, you knew exactly who you were watching and what they stand for," Stansbury said.
Murphy said that on the Adidas side of things they are trying to build on the grassroots level in major cities like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles and Atlanta is the next base for that growth. Adidas is placing fulltime personnel in Atlanta to work with Georgia Tech on branding and apparel as part of that grassroots effort and to help ease the transition to Adidas.
"For me for the foreseeable future we are committed to providing the best product and most innovative to the 400 student athletes here at Georgia Tech, both men and women. We are excited for that opportunity," Murphy said. "As Adidas moves into the future of college athletics we want to move past just a logo on the field and uniforms and get into storytelling and our ability to reach athletes and use that platform to reach kids, the alumni and the community. We will have a dedicated marketing group here that will focus on doing things day-to-day and month-to-month here. We look at this partnership as a fully integrated partnership, we will show athletics what we have planned for the upcoming years and they will talk to us about what they have planned. I think you will see some exciting things in the marketplace for the fans and the athletes that will be a collaboration between the two brands."
Russell and Tech's relationship goes back to the early days of the brand and Russell helped endow scholarships and facilities around the Tech campus. Stansbury said that was a factor in how he handled the relationship ending between the long time partners.
"We definitely wanted to be respectful with our joint history. The founders of Russell were Georgia Tech alums and so it was really important we did this the right way. Their corporate strategy had changed along the way so this was a mutual process, but it was important we did it the right way and respected our joint past," he said.
Pastner said this will be his first time wearing Adidas gear and he thinks it will be a big plus for his team on the court and in recruiting.
"It's funny because I've always worn Nike stuff so this will be a big change for me, but I think it is a great thing for our program and for recruiting," Pastner said.
Tech baseball coach Danny Hall made the switch to Adidas last year and he is a strong convert to what they have to offer the Yellow Jacket program. He just returned from spending a week with the Adidas staff learning about the products.
"Some of our former players were telling us that Adidas is really coming up with good shoes. The pros will always get a shoe before us and before you can buy it at Dick's Sporting Goods. They started saying it and my big hang up was the bat. What is that bat like, that is a critical piece for any team. I had my son hit it last summer and I walked out of there like there is no question on the bat, it is good," Hall said. "I was just in Portland (Oregon) and to see the research and development that goes into their bats, they have a testing area right there at their headquarters and there five engineers in there. I almost thought I was at Georgia Tech listening to those engineers talk about the bats. They demonstrated some things and honestly there were things that came up that I hadn't thought of or I had in my head and sanded on. I'm excited and I think it is a great company."
One area that many current players are hoping to see change is the amount of gear (shirts, shorts, socks, etc..) that they receive from Georgia Tech. Many schools have apparel days and load up student athletes with gear, Stansbury believes that will be the case at Georgia Tech going forward.
"Our priority is always the student athlete and we want to put them in the best gear possible that gives them a competitive advantage. Adidas has been at the forefront of sports innovation, so one the kind of gear this decision and making sure we provide our student athletes with what they need. For some it will seem like Christmas and we are definitely looking forward to getting to that point," Stansbury said.