BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- An annual $10,000 Nike account for the conference commissioner. Hundreds of pairs of sneakers for each school. Six-hundred-fifty white t-shirts for the conference. Free tickets for Nike at the Bayou Classic and conference championships.These are some of the provisions of the Birmingham-based Southwestern Athletic Conference's five-year deal with Nike.
The contract is a piker compared to the gangbuster corporate deals between apparel companies and big time football schools such as the University of Alabama. ESPN estimates that the market for collegiate-licensed apparel $4.6 billion annually.
The Nike agreement supplies the conference, which generated $6.1 million in revenue in 2013, with some swag and cash. Athletes at the conference schools have to wear Nike shoes as a result.
Two Alabama schools benefit from the deal: Alabama A&M University and Alabama State University. So do fellow SWAC members Alcorn State University; Grambling State University; University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff; Jackson State University; Mississippi Valley State University; Prairie View A&M University; Southern University & A&M College; and, Texas Southern University.
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