Yea this whole thing is a **** show and it started years ago with the original adidas contract. The fact that the department was operating without a contract for over a year is negligent. Asbury park article stated the contract was visible on Rutgers website.
I posted the meeting agenda to TKR several times. Click the link in my post above then click the “Page 29”. There it is.
The wording on page 29 is open to interpretation. It states the contract is for 5 years 30 million in the body of the resolution. Then in synopsis makes the terms inclusive of 10 years. I’ve seen this in employment contracts where there are renewal clauses at a minimum of agreed upon terms and conditions mimicking the initial terms and duration. Not a lawyer. And this announcement is intentionally vague by design.
That won't stop the asshats on this board from taking the most negative interpretation of the agreement.
Between that and the fn lawyers we pay to surrender money to every complainant and to shut down anything that has any possibility of exposure.. WTH.. its not like we don't TEACH marketing and TEACH law and TEACH business. Its almost like these people in charge say, how can we cash a paycheck for doing nothing and making sure we never have to do anything.
When has teh most negative interpretation not been true where it came to Rutgers negotiations?
It’s because RU is loaded with people that know theory but have little real world experience. And the bureaucracy has forced out any person with experience only to be replaced by a political appointee.
The amount of time it takes to do the simplest thing for a donor is mind numbing. Multiple e-mails, texts, calls, etc. In our office, someone comes sends an e-mail to the management "committee" (3 people), and it is acted upon the same day or later. Much smaller organization, but we keep our clients and employees happy by getting the little things done right away and people appreciate that. Large organizations don't have bad intent, but things get tied up and lost in the bureaucracy of who do we need approval from to get the simplest things done. It's not unique to Rutgers, but fairly well perfected.
That is a great explanation of the inner workings of many large orgs. My post was specific to deal making, contracts and marketing. RU has done a world class job of screwing these simple tasks for greater than 50 years. Thinking back to my time in the banks in the early to mid 90s. It was nearly impossible to find anything branded Rutgers outside of some ****** 3rd class sweatshirt. But yet anyone trying to print a t shirt for homecoming would get shut down for copyright infringement. I have mentioned on this board many times. I tried to work with RU to get hi end branded merchandise (shirts hats sweatshirts etc…)produced going back to early 2000’s through a vendor I know that produces for many athletic manufacturers and has contracts with most colleges and conferences. RU made it so difficult that the company walked away. Luckily some of this has changed. But as you can see by who, how and what we contracted with for these uniforms I think Rutgers is still “Rutgersing”.
I custom make some of my Rutgers apparel. You should be able to find a small tshirt shop that doesn’t ask about copyrights or trademarks.
Yea. Exactly my experience. Go into any other universities bookstore and you are inundated with multiple branded options. If you are a Nike, Adidas, under armour school, you have entire sections specific to that brand. Huge corporate logos indicating you are a branded school. Go into Rutgers bookstore and you will have a hard time finding anything but some third rate junk off brand TJ max level item. This is not due to Rutger’s fans or students not willing to spend. It is 100% the bureaucracy and politicized positions of Rutgers management.
Boy did you ever just speak the truth. There are many doers in organizations like these who wind up getting frustrated by the layers upon layers they need to go through to get the simplest approval.
Nonsense our two studs came on campus in June, Adidas was already out long before then.
Apparently you never negotiated a contract. If you had the 2 most desirable assets locked up why
disclaimer the NIKE deal I found in google search ( below) might not be accurate
| University | Annual Value | Brand | Contract Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | $16.8 Million | Nike | 15 Years |
| Michigan | $15.7 Million | Nike/Jordan | 11 Years |
| Oregon | $8.0 Million | Nike | 11 Years |
| Rutgers | $6.0 Million | Nike | 5 Years |
>An open records request of Rutgers' contract with Adidas revealed that Rutgers received $12,944,666.20 in value from Adidas and paid the company $16,257,918.46 over the six-year deal; the net result was that the university paid Adidas $3,313,252 over the duration of the agreement.< |
The Rutgers / BSN Sports deal through Nike is not public, so that number is not accurate. As a matter of fact, the BSN deal right now is only a handshake deal for the time being, nothing is written in ink yet.
This..its been like this since the 90s...dod getter when joining the big 10 bit still way behind every other school
The request for proposals for apparel providers went out after Hobbs was gone. Pisarri was in charge. Nike and Adidas didn't respond with proposals. BSN was the only apparel supplier to make a proposal to Rutgers.
No one wants to admit that Adidas was actually a good partner. And actually saved Rutgers from the hilarious one sided deal that they had with Nike back in the 2010s. But hey, “Nike looks better.”
Good to see you posting. Agree on all counts.
No one wants to admit that Adidas was actually a good partner. And actually saved Rutgers from the hilarious one sided deal that they had with Nike back in the 2010s. But hey, “Nike looks better.”
Fair enough, I suppose. On August 16, 2024, Hobbs stepped down as AD.
www.sportsbusinessjournal.com
www.sportsbusinessjournal.com
The current athletic department leadership has had plenty of time to complete the apparel deal. The only good reason a signed deal does not exist - 20 months after the department falsely stated it was signed - is if Keli used the fact it wasn't signed to pursue a deal directly with Nike.Fair enough, I suppose. On August 16, 2024, Hobbs stepped down as AD.
However, Hobbs screwed the pooch long before his resignation/dismissal, letting the Adidas deal expire and not negotiating a better deal. This should have been one of his key initiatives, but he was obviously distracted doing yoga with the gymnastics team. This is malpractice and failure to perform his basic duties to allow the apparel contract with Adidas to expire without negotiating a new deal. He left Rutgers flapping in the wind. The winner in any negotiation is the party with the next best alternative. Hobbs' nonfeasance or misfeasance cost Rutgers millions of dollars. By letting the contract expire and not negotiating and securing a deal before the Adidas experience left Rutgers without a leg to stand on in negotiations because Rutger had no other alternative.
October 22, 2024 Article:
"Rutgers is “no longer under contract” with Adidas and has "not been since the end of the 2022-2023 school year," according to Carino & Matson of the ASBURY PARK PRESS. Since that time, the brand has been outfitting the school “at a discounted price but without a contract." Last March, then-Rutgers AD Pat Hobbssaid the school had “extended our partnership with Adidas" and "the contract is being finalized." However, Carino & Matson note a "contract extension never happened." The “logical move from here is for Rutgers to partner with Nike," especially as star men's basketball freshmen Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper have been "wearing Nike sneakers" since they joined the program in the summer. Rutgers also spent five years with Nike before switching to Adidas in July 2017. But right now the athletic department is in the “process of exploring options with multiple outfitters.” "
Rutgers no longer with Adidas, in search of new athletic apparel provider
Rutgers is no longer under contract with Adidas, a school official told the Asbury Park Press. The school has not been since the end of the 2022-2023 school year, and since that time, Adidas has been outfitting the Scarlet Knights at a discounted price but without a contract.
December 22, 2025 Article:
"The deal with Adidas ended in the summer of 2023 and since then, Adidas has been outfitting the Scarlet Knights "at a discounted price but without a contract." The apparel change "will be welcomed throughout the athletics department because Nike remains the preeminent apparel brand in college sports" (ASBURY PARK PRESS, 12/15)."
Rutgers moving to Nike as new apparel partner
The Rutgers University Board of Governors is expected to authorize a contract with BSN Sports that makes Nike the official outfitter of the Scarlet Knights on Tuesday.
What are you talking about? The current deal with Nike went into effect on July 1, 2005. Keli Zinn became AD on July 30, 2005.
