Temple athletics parts ways with Under Armour, signs new deal with Nike

Temple has agreed to a three-year deal with Nike to become its official outfitter for athletics, the university announced Wednesday. Details of the agreement were not disclosed.

Temple and Under Armour mutually decided to part ways five years after signing a 10-year extension in 2015. At the time, The Inquirer reported that the agreement was worth $30 million, citing two sources.

“We are very excited about our new partnership with Nike, the leading apparel company of collegiate athletics," said Patrick Kraft, Temple’s director of athletics. “We look forward to working together in this partnership to enhance the Temple and Nike brands."

Nike will be the exclusive brand for all apparel, footwear, and accessories for Temple’s 19 varsity sports. The deal will go into effect in July, according to the Owls.

Nike designs at schools like Oregon, LSU, and Baylor have proved to help recruiting. Teams wearing Nike apparel have won the last six men’s basketball and college football championships.

In 2018, Nike outfitted 52.8% of Power 5 and Group of 5 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Temple will become the seventh of 12 schools in the American Athletic Conference outfitted by Nike.

“Nike is the gold standard in basketball," Temple basketball coach Aaron McKie said in a statement. "It is the industry leader and the preferred shoe for the majority of basketball players. This new partnership will really be beneficial in terms of recruiting and will be well received by our current players.”