Russell Contract?

[RyanS12]

I heard uga got a sneaker contract from Nine West!

They warm up in Uggs

 

[WreckedbyWhiskey]

If I had to choose, I'd pick Nike over UA...hell, I'd be happy w/ Adidas as long as we got rid of Russell, it adds zero value to the GT brand.

Nike has an army of designers that focus on school-specific branding and I could see them doing a lot w/ "THWG" or "Ramblin Wreck" themed designs...plus, I can see Nike's combat line marrying perfectly w/ Tech (honey-comb design).

Nike's brand power and reach is much larger than UA. But true enough, we'd be a small fish in a big pond w/ Nike when we could potentially get more attention from UA since their P5 portfolio isn't as big.

 

[laoh]

If you're looking for not bad/decent/sometimes really good looking Tech gear, sometimes, Old Navy has really good looking tshirts and hats... (I usually find them at the Buckhead location) and it's probably avail in fall only. For what's avail at the book store, Russell gear is butt fugly, Champion is same stuff year after year and expensive, UA is expensive and usually ugly... Also Walmart Howell Mill and Target Atlantic Station usually has Tech gear... not the quantity of mutt wear but consider them as alternatives to the book store. YMMV.

 

[CuseJacket]

 

[Philhutch80]

Bahahahaha that is awesome!!!! The commercial they ran during their bowl game was solely pointed at high school kids, not even lower level college football. I'm looking forward to either Nike or UA helping to make a big splash.

 

[UgaBlows]

Russell gear (not GT) is available at Walmart.....enough said

 

[ramblinvak]

Looking long-term, I hope GT goes with Nike for the next contract. Nike has been the only sports brand that has consistently been the "cool brand" which sadly impacts recruiting way more than we would like to think it does. If you look back at when GT originally signed with Russell (i think late 90s), they were probably comparable to where UA is right now, maybe just a notch below UA. Now, Russell is an afterthought in terms of sportswear. There is no way to know what UA will be like in 10-20 years but you can count on Nike's continued success.

This is probably all moot though and will most likely come down to who shows up with the most about of money.

 

[Techster]

The crazy thing about the Russell situation is...they did it to themselves! It's one thing whether or not kids think you're cool, but to continue to put out hideous uniforms is a choice. C'mon, where are you getting your designers? You have a P5 level football team under contract to wear your uniforms. GT plays a few showcase games a year. Russel has a few opportunities to "wow" the audience and potential customers every year. Every year they drop the ball.

Get great designers, give GT football players 15-20 options to look at every year. That was the UA model with their schools under contract. Adidas was losing marketshare, and now they're putting an emphasis on design. They're now thought of as one of the hippest and cutting edge designs in the athletic and shoe apparel business. The best Russell could do was the honeycomb unis? Yeesh...

 

[Whiskey_Clear]

Both Nike and UA have produced some unis even uglier than the worst R has at Tech. Both make some very good looking unis also for several teams. R can and has made good looking unis for Tech. Most every fan fave that has been posted here is.....a R design. Just in different periods / eras / years.

That said, R is pretty much done in this arena. I don't like Nike, never have, never will. Most of their "cool new designs" are not at all conservative and would be hated here if you switched that swoosh for a R imo.

UA appeals to me more for several reasons (see Nike hate above). I've been wearing their stuff for over a decade and it's always good quality high performance wear. They've been innovativing and get copied like crazy by all the others, particularly when it comes to dry whick apparel. I can't speak at all on the quality of their cleats / footwear.

But back to hated Nike. They will always favor the mutts over us if we go with them. Also, any company that puts the silhouette of a bball player on a football uni doesn't deserve to make football unis anymore. I don't care how popular that stupid crap is "with the kids". Put the silhouette of a famous footballer on it and we can talk. Eff Nike.

 

[Joebot57]

I think one of the main differences between Russell and the bigger companies is how well the jerseys actually fit. My high school wore Russell for my first 3 years but switched to UA my senior year, and I can tell you first hand that UA is 100 times better not just in terms of look and style but fit. Russell jerseys are always baggy (Just look at GT's compared to any non-Russell school) but UA is slim and just feels better, an you know what they say, if you look good you feel good and if you feel good you play good. I would like to see GT with UA because I think they could be very creative, Yellow Jackets is a unique mascot and I would like to see UA create a unique brand to go along with that, so far Russell has not been very creative.

 

[Whiskey_Clear]

A potential problem with creativity, with any provider, is our curmudgeony fan base. Many old guard fans are too conservative to embrace a "non traditional" look. Many younger fans are tired of old school looks and want something different and "fresh" to keep up with the Joneses. Good luck pleasing this bunch.

 

[flea77]

I think one of the main differences between Russell and the bigger companies is how well the jerseys actually fit. My high school wore Russell for my first 3 years but switched to UA my senior year, and I can tell you first hand that UA is 100 times better not just in terms of look and style but fit. Russell jerseys are always baggy (Just look at GT's compared to any non-Russell school) but UA is slim and just feels better, an you know what they say, if you look good you feel good and if you feel good you play good. I would like to see GT with UA because I think they could be very creative, Yellow Jackets is a unique mascot and I would like to see UA create a unique brand to go along with that, so far Russell has not been very creative.

The jerseys GT wears are not the cheap Russell jerseys that HS teams wear. More than likely they are made at the same factory as Nike and UA , just sew on a diff logo...

 

[tech_wreck47]

A potential problem with creativity, with any provider, is our curmudgeony fan base. Many old guard fans are too conservative to embrace a "non traditional" look. Many younger fans are tired of old school looks and want something different and "fresh" to keep up with the Joneses. Good luck pleasing this bunch.

I wouldn't mind a mix of some old school uniforms and some new school.

 

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

A potential problem with creativity, with any provider, is our curmudgeony fan base. Many old guard fans are too conservative to embrace a "non traditional" look. Many younger fans are tired of old school looks and want something different and "fresh" to keep up with the Joneses. Good luck pleasing this bunch.

I probably qualify as an "old guard fan," but, in spite of my insistence on gold, I am actually very open to non-traditional looks, as long as they are not butt-ugly, like some of those Oregon uniforms. That probably stuns some of you. LOL

 

[Yomanser]

The problem with Russell really came about when Fruit of the Loom bought them out. Their corporate strategy isn't geared towards athletic gear anymore; much more of the stylish, hipster look. Most of their revenue comes from the sweatpants with lettering down the side that you see all over the place. That's where their focus is; it's no longer in athletic gear

 

[GTFLETCH]

I want the most money for our school even if it means Russell Athletic... However I will admit it is crazy that RA items are sold at Walmart and no GT items by RA are....Crazy... Russell competes against Champion ( you can find Champion products at Target) both focus or target a certain type of customer...RA does nothing to sell GT gear (I do not think they want to try and sell GT items)...they are focused on out selling or converting target Champion customers.

If Nike/UA/Adidas ever offer the same amount of $$ or more GTAA needs to switch ASAP.. As it will help with GT branding..

 

[Whiskey_Clear]

The reason it's impossible to find decent Tech gear in stores is almost solely Tech's fault. Tech is very stringent with licensing. Maybe they can leverage that in the next contract getting more $ for more exclusive licensing for that brand but I dunno. The market demand for Tech gear just isn't the same as a factory program's. All of this is also a bit outside my bailiwick.

 

[SouthernJacket]

I'm in favor of Nike big time. I could care less that they sponsor Uga other than the fact that I'm jealous uga gets to wear Nike. Nike will always be king.

I don't hate UA, they're just ok. I feel like UA is 2000 version of what Reebok was in the late 1980/early 1990's.

 

[Techster]

I want the most money for our school even if it means Russell Athletic... However I will admit it is crazy that RA items are sold at Walmart and no GT items by RA are....Crazy... Russell competes against Champion ( you can find Champion products at Target) both focus or target a certain type of customer...RA does nothing to sell GT gear (I do not think they want to try and sell GT items)...they are focused on out selling or converting target Champion customers.

If Nike/UA/Adidas ever offer the same amount of $$ or more GTAA needs to switch ASAP.. As it will help with GT branding..

Well you're going to be even MORE pissed that WalMart sells RA apparell with...UGA. Seriously, given that we're RA's "major" college partner, and Walmart does not carry any RA GT gear, but does carry our most hated in-state rival's gear.

 

[RonJohn]

Well you're going to be even MORE pissed that WalMart sells RA apparell with...UGA. Seriously, given that we're RA's "major" college partner, and Walmart does not carry any RA GT gear, but does carry our most hated in-state rival's gear.

Once again, this has nothing to do with our uniform contract. Russell does not tell Walmart what to carry. Nike does not tell Walmart what to carry. UA does not tell Walmart what to carry. Walmart works out deals with suppliers to carry only what Walmart thinks will sell. I saw a lady who works at Walmart with two very nice GT tailgating chairs. I asked her where she got them. She told me that many years ago her store got GT, UGA, Auburn, and Alabama chairs of the same design. They sold for $30. All except GT sold out in a few days. In November, the store dropped the price of the GT chairs to $3 to liquidate them. That is when she bought hers. I have heard many similar stories about GT gear. That is the reason that there is not GT gear available from Russel, Nike, or UA. Stores are not going to stock them if nobody will buy them.