CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) - The University of Illinois has been working with Nike for more than a year to rebrand the school’s athletic teams and plans to unveil the new designs at a fashion show-like event April 16.
Donors, fans and alumni have been invited to the 2,000-seat Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, where athletes will launch the new look. Nike has a 10-year contract to be the Illini’s exclusive shoe and apparel provider that runs through June 2015. Illini officials have said the school’s athletic teams have a lack of design consistency.
The effort started with looking at the school’s visual identity, including logos, colors, fonts and uniforms, said assistant athletic director Marty Kaufmann.
“There are definitely some new elements within our brand portfolio,” Kaufmann told the News-Gazette (https://bit.ly/OngbFv ).”The biggest thing for us now, whether people see big or small changes, is that there’s consistency.”
Football and basketball players will be the first athletes to wear the new designs.
The last time the Illini redesigned their image was the 1990s. Kaufman calls it a “clean-up” of the brand. Nike provides the design services for free, and the UI will retain copyright to any designs.
UI receives up to $1.2 million in free product from Nike every year plus a cash payment of $325,000. The Illini spent about $490,000 on Nike products during fiscal year 2013.
Under the contract, Nike receives season tickets and single tickets to different Illini sporting events along with parking passes and the chance to hold promotional events.
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Information from: The News-Gazette, https://www.news-gazette.com
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