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There has been a lot of talk on sports networks, radio stations, and blogs about the college sports conference realignment as of late. The catalyst to the conversation and controversy of the impact on business and revenue began when the University of Nebraska announced they would be leaving the Big XII for the Big Ten. This soon followed announcements by several other major programs jumping ship from their respective conferences looking to join something bigger and better.
While we could spend hours talking about the implications this realignment has on the different universities revenues from television rights, there are some animal winners and losers on the footwear and apparel front as well.
It’s no secret that collegiate licensed apparel and goods is a multi-million dollar industry. ?We saw how important and cutthroat the business side of endorsement deals is with feet institutions last fall. In detail, the conflict involving Marcus Jordan’s refusal to wear Adidas shoes though his school was officially outfitted by The Three Stripes comes to mind. Some brands stand to win and lose big with the imminent dissolution of the Big XII and schools jumping to different conferences and markets.
