NU/Oregon Could Have Been the Battle of the Swoosh

[Mavric]

But what if Nebraska had been in Knight’s Swoosh stable all this time?

That was Knight’s wish. And that was Bill Byrne’s aim.

Byrne was the athletic director at Nebraska in 1995. Before coming to Lincoln, Byrne had been the A.D. at Oregon from 1984 to 1992 and had developed a close relationship with Knight.

I spoke with Byrne on Wednesday from his home in Bryan, Texas. I wanted to know how Nebraska came to choose Adidas, especially with Byrne’s close ties to Knight and Oregon.

The answer: Tom Osborne made the call.

“Nebraska had been with Converse, and then Converse went out of (the college football) business,” Byrne said. “Nike wanted Nebraska. They made us a great offer.

“I went to coach Osborne and told him that Nike wanted to sign with Nebraska. Instead he signed with Apex. Then Apex went out of the (college football) business.

“Then Tom signed a contract with Adidas. That’s how that happened.”

According to Byrne, NU coaches back then had complete control over the individual shoe contracts for their sports. Byrne would later change that so the athletic director had control.

OWH

 

[Cdog923]

I'm #ThreeStripeLife, so this is a good story for me.

 

[TonyStalloni]

It just goes to show that even someone with a degree in psychology can rarely discover their own traits and analyze them accurately. Tom usually wanted to pick the underdog and give them a chance to succeed. I loved him and his character but like everyone his decisions were human and subject to error.

 

[TAKODA]

This tid bit was interesting. Shoulda coulda woulda!

 

[STL Husker]

So this is just saying that we could be Nike right now instead of Adidas. Oregon would still be the flagship school for Nike and not much would be different other than a logo. I assume we get more money from Adidas or else we would have switched by now. I'm not sure where there was an error in judgement on Osborne's part. And don't even bring up alternate jerseys. Not only are they an insignificant part of an apparel agreement, they didn't exist when Osborne made the decision.

 

[TAKODA]

So this is just saying that we could be Nike right now instead of Adidas. Oregon would still be the flagship school for Nike and not much would be different other than a logo. I assume we get more money from Adidas or else we would have switched by now. I'm not sure where there was an error in judgement on Osborne's part. And don't even bring up alternate jerseys. Not only are they an insignificant part of an apparel agreement, they didn't exist when Osborne made the decision.

I am good with our traditional uniforms but when looking at what Nike has done for Oregon, I would have liked to been in their Shoes! Pun intended.

Recruits appear to like the options that Nike has done for Oregon. That's all I am sayin!

 

[Cdog923]

So this is just saying that we could be Nike right now instead of Adidas. Oregon would still be the flagship school for Nike and not much would be different other than a logo. I assume we get more money from Adidas or else we would have switched by now. I'm not sure where there was an error in judgement on Osborne's part. And don't even bring up alternate jerseys. Not only are they an insignificant part of an apparel agreement, they didn't exist when Osborne made the decision.

There wasn't an error. We could have been a big fish in Adidas' small (now larger) pond, or a small fish in Nike's large (now HUGE) pond.

 

[Cdog923]

So this is just saying that we could be Nike right now instead of Adidas. Oregon would still be the flagship school for Nike and not much would be different other than a logo. I assume we get more money from Adidas or else we would have switched by now. I'm not sure where there was an error in judgement on Osborne's part. And don't even bring up alternate jerseys. Not only are they an insignificant part of an apparel agreement, they didn't exist when Osborne made the decision.

I am good with our traditional uniforms but when looking at what Nike has done for Oregon, I would have liked to been in their Shoes! Pun intended.

Recruits appear to like the options that Nike has done for Oregon. That's all I am sayin!

Recruits are coming around to Adidas. They've done a much better job of marketing lately, and don't underestimate the impact that Adidas' apparel contract with Kanye West can do.

 

[ColoradoHusk]

So this is just saying that we could be Nike right now instead of Adidas. Oregon would still be the flagship school for Nike and not much would be different other than a logo. I assume we get more money from Adidas or else we would have switched by now. I'm not sure where there was an error in judgement on Osborne's part. And don't even bring up alternate jerseys. Not only are they an insignificant part of an apparel agreement, they didn't exist when Osborne made the decision.

I am good with our traditional uniforms but when looking at what Nike has done for Oregon, I would have liked to been in their Shoes! Pun intended.

Recruits appear to like the options that Nike has done for Oregon. That's all I am sayin!

Recruits are coming around to Adidas. They've done a much better job of marketing lately, and don't underestimate the impact that Adidas' apparel contract with Kanye West can do.

Adidas has released a line of Yeezy (is that right?) football cleats for their pro athletes to wear. I wonder if their colleges will be able to wear them also.

 

[TAKODA]

So this is just saying that we could be Nike right now instead of Adidas. Oregon would still be the flagship school for Nike and not much would be different other than a logo. I assume we get more money from Adidas or else we would have switched by now. I'm not sure where there was an error in judgement on Osborne's part. And don't even bring up alternate jerseys. Not only are they an insignificant part of an apparel agreement, they didn't exist when Osborne made the decision.

I am good with our traditional uniforms but when looking at what Nike has done for Oregon, I would have liked to been in their Shoes! Pun intended.

Recruits appear to like the options that Nike has done for Oregon. That's all I am sayin!

Recruits are coming around to Adidas. They've done a much better job of marketing lately, and don't underestimate the impact that Adidas' apparel contract with Kanye West can do.

We can only hope, however, they have not supplied us with the best looking Alts recently either. This years look a bit better but the jury is still out until we see them on the field in mass.

 

[BIG ERN]

Adidas is really starting to come back around again. Nike has been at the top for some time now, but it is becoming a flooded market. At this point I think it is smarter for schools to go Adidas or UA.

Bama and USC have the most plain jerseys in football. I think this is overrated to assume a lot of kids choose because of this.

 

[Lyons in the Sea of Red.]

Adidas is really starting to come back around again. Nike has been at the top for some time now, but it is becoming a flooded market. At this point I think it is smarter for schools to go Adidas or UA.

Bama and USC have the most plain jerseys in football. I think this is overrated to assume a lot of kids choose because of this.

Its not about the jerseys to recruits. It's about all the swag/shoes/apparel that you get for wearing a jersey. And while I like Adidas, from a "cool" factor, Nike has some pretty awesome off-field gear for players.

 

[TAKODA]

This has been debated for a long time. Kids like the swag, it's just a fact.

 

[Pedro Guerrero]

View attachment 11126

Great choice Dr. Tom

 

[Touchdown Tommie]

So this is just saying that we could be Nike right now instead of Adidas. Oregon would still be the flagship school for Nike and not much would be different other than a logo. I assume we get more money from Adidas or else we would have switched by now. I'm not sure where there was an error in judgement on Osborne's part. And don't even bring up alternate jerseys. Not only are they an insignificant part of an apparel agreement, they didn't exist when Osborne made the decision.

I am good with our traditional uniforms but when looking at what Nike has done for Oregon, I would have liked to been in their Shoes! Pun intended.

Recruits appear to like the options that Nike has done for Oregon. That's all I am sayin!

Recruits are coming around to Adidas. They've done a much better job of marketing lately, and don't underestimate the impact that Adidas' apparel contract with Kanye West can do.

I believe there was a tweet from one of the players wishing they would wear these shoes.

I was all Adidas at one point, but then they slid down big time. I switched over to Nike. Their sizing and options are much, much better. I just do not like what Adidas has to offer.