Under Armour Stomps on Nike's College Football Turf
*By Michael Teich*
The College Football Playoff hasn't even kicked off, but Under Armour is already a winner.
For the first time since the final four-structured championship began in 2014, a non-Nike brand is sponsoring one of the teams that made the playoffs.
This year, that team is Notre Dame and Under Armour is the sponsor.
Under Armour may have stolen a final four sponsorship from Nike, but Nike still has a strong grip on the sport at the college level. Following the selection made by the College Football Playoff committee on Sunday, 19 of the 20 teams that have made the college football playoff since it began in 2014 have featured the Nike swoosh on their jerseys.
Unless there is a power shift, it does not appear that Nike's reign will come to an end anytime soon, as familiar names continue to dominate the championship. Alabama has been in all five playoffs, Clemson has been selected for four in a row, and Oklahoma has made its way into the top four three times.
Beyond Notre Dame, which switched from Adidas to Under Armour in 2014, no other non-Nike branded team was close to being selected for the playoff. Out of the top 25 ranked teams, 21 were sponsored by Nike ($NKE), two by Under Armour ($UAA), and two by Adidas ($ADDYY). The highest-ranked non-Nike school was Utah, which was rated the 17th best team in the nation.
Nike dominance is not limited to college football. The sports retailer had its logo emblazoned on the jerseys of three of four teams in college basketball's 2018 final four, and is the sponsor of eight of the last 10 champions. Nike also scored big during the 2018 World Cup when both France and Croatia entered the championship wearing the swoosh.
As millions of Americans are set to retire, John Carter, President & COO of Nationwide Financial, shares what to expect and how consumers of all ages can better prepare for their golden years.
The heated hearing began with recorded testimony from kids and parents talking about being exploited on social media. Throughout the hours-long event, parents who lost children to suicide silently held up pictures of their dead kids.
Adtalem CEO Steve Beard addresses a report from Safkhet Capital taking the short position on the for-profit education giant, plus why he believes there should be financial recourse for student loan borrowers misled by their institutions.
CEO of Americares Christine Squires shares how the organization is helping provide medical assistance in a time of increasing instability, war, and climate-related disaster.
Doug Clinton, Deepwater Asset Management managing partner, shares tips for investors looking to take advantage of the massive boom in artificial intelligence beyond Microsoft and Nvidia.
Jason Moser, analyst and adviser at the Motley Fool, shares thoughts on recent tech earnings, including what’s behind Google’s share price drop and why A.I. could be Microsoft’s ‘iPhone moment.’
CEOs of social media platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and more meet with lawmakers Wednesday about how they are protecting children from sexual exploitation.
