Nike swooshing into Coyote Athletics

University of South Dakota has partnered with Nike and BSN Sports for the next ten years of Coyote Athletics. This partnership will start on July 1.

When fans come back to campus in the fall, Adidas will be gone from the Coyotes’ jerseys, and the Nike swoosh will now be there instead. Adidas has been a partner with USD since 2012, lasting in a 14 year partnership.

When the Adidas contract was coming to an end at the end of this school year, the university put out a bid, and both Adidas and Nike came back with contracts. Alexa Rudeen, Assistant AD for Equipment and Operations, noted that Athletic Director Jon Schemmel took his time to look through the contracts.

“Jon Schemmel went through every contract very detail oriented, making sure the right numbers were there,” Rudeen said. “He got in contact with Adidas and Nike, and when it all came out, the Nike contract looked great.” 

The decision also came a bit easier as USD will be the only Division One school to partner with Nike.

“We are now the only Dakota school as a Nike school, so I think that helps a lot,” Rudeen said. “It just separates us from the rest of the Dakotas when it comes to recruiting and branding.” 

Rudeen expects fans to be excited about this change, especially the changes to the jerseys in both colors and styles.

“I think the biggest transition that people are going to notice is just the color change. I mean, we’re still red, but Adidas red compared to Nike red is vastly different,” Rudeen said. “Adidas red is more the same color as Nebraska, and a little darker. Nike red is almost like a candy apple. It looks more like the Georgia Bulldogs, so the red is definitely going to be the biggest look change.” 

“Every team sport will be getting three jerseys, which is nice,” Rudeen said. “Some of those teams, like soccer, have never had a black jersey before, and now they will get a black jersey because we were able to do that for that team. It will be exciting to have all red, white and black jerseys for every single team.” 

Gear has been coming into the offices now, as the athletic department prepares to make the switch over the summer. Rudeen commented on just how many boxes the department is receiving.

“Everyday we get anywhere from 20 to 80 boxes,” Rudeen said. “It’s like those unboxing videos you guys see, so that’s been very exciting,” 

A big part of the consideration for the department was the ability to bring the community into the brand, which Rudeen believes Nike will help with.

“We want the town of Vermillion to be a USD Nike town, and so really working hard with Charlie’s and collaborating with some things. I think it was harder to get Adidas into stores and the retail side,” Rudeen said. “Being able to shift to Nike is going to help with the retail side as well, so I’m pretty excited.” 

The athletic department will be with Nike for 10 years as the contract starts in July. Fans will get their first experience with the teams in the fall, starting with volleyball, soccer and football.