Innovation Is Key: Under Armour and Notre Dame Join Forces

    

Under Armour is taking over the world of college sports. Although this statement may not be completely accurate, the company sure is making major deals to compete with fellow competitors Nike and Adidas. The company endorses top athletes such as Michael Phelps, Tom Brady, Lindsey Vonn, and Cam Newton, as well as becoming the official apparel provider to the up and coming National Lacrosse League. However, most recently Under Armour has shown much interest in college football by providing Auburn's uniforms in the national championship game and most recently signing a $100 million dollar equipment deal with Notre Dame.

Under Armour has been building a top brand name in the emerging market of hi-tech athletic and sporting gear. Almost two decades after creating shirts out of necessity for his college football team, CEO Kevin Plank and his Under Armour brand produce the world's most innovative performance enhancing apparel in the industry.

This is a big win for the brand of Under Armour because they are replacing their competitor Adidas to outfit all of the sports Notre Dame offers. This apparel company is still relatively new and has just begun its global marketing campaign to reach customers outside of the United States. College football has been gaining popularity especially over the past few years, and it proves to be a great deal for Under Armour to gain a bigger market and to receive more exposure with this most recent deal.

Adidas began their partnership with Notre Dame in 1997, but this major switch of the apparel and equipment provider, shows Under Armour is gaining popularity and is up for the challenge to compete with Nike and Adidas. College uniform providers are currently ranked with Nike No. 1, Adidas No. 2, and Under Armour No. 3.

Kevin Plank began making t-shirts for his college football team when he noticed the amount of sweat and heat the shirts trapped that made the players uncomfortable and unable to play to their highest ability. Now Plank and his company have perfected the hi-tech apparel and he is now supplying colleges across the country with performance enhancing apparel.

This partnership between Under Armour and Notre Dame has the ability to help both sides prosper. Under Armour is synonymous with innovation and that will only benefit Notre Dame with the uniforms they will be wearing in the upcoming seasons.

This deal means the Fighting Irish uniforms will be stylish and also provide the possibility of a radical change the university is said to be looking for.

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Alexa Fontanella is a freshman Sport Management Major at Drexel University, from Totowa, NJ. This winter she will be working with Drexel Athletics on marketing strategies and game day operations for the Drexel Dragons basketball team. Alexa is looking forward to participating in her first co-op next fall and is excited for such an amazing opportunity. She is a huge New York Sports fan, specifically the Yankees and the Nets.