East Carolina will be outfitted in Adidas uniforms starting in 2016.
The school, which currently has a contract with Nike, is moving over to Adidas for the next 10 years. It means you can expect East Carolina's purple and gold uniforms to look at least a bit different next season.
"I am very excited for our student-athletes, coaches, and our fans as the Pirates begin this new partnership with adidas," ECU athletic director Jeff Compher said. "I would like to thank our hard working staff and the leadership team at adidas for aggressively pursuing this partnership and long-term relationship. adidas is already nationally-recognized for their quality, service and leadership in collegiate athletics. Their desire to partner with ECU will accelerate the growth of our Pirate brand."
East Carolina, 4-5 this season, moved to the American Athletic Conference in 2014. The school previously played in Conference USA. According to a school release, representatives from Adidas will be on campus in November to meet with each of the school's sports.
Adidas signed apparel contracts with Arizona State and Miami that began before the start of the 2015 football season. The company also outfits Mississippi State, Nebraska, Texas A&M and others. Adidas used to provide apparel for both Michigan and Tennessee but both schools switched to Nike. Tennessee's Nike deal began in 2015 while Michigan's begins next summer.
"We are looking forward to this partnership, especially one that aligns us closely with programs in the SEC, ACC, Big 10, Big 12 and Pac-12," coach Ruffin McNeil said in a statement. "The enhanced value for me is that adidas is equally excited about East Carolina and this agreement is very reflective of that. It also represents putting the needs of all ECU student-athletes and programs first, which is always our top priority. I'm also excited to see and be a part of an innovative design for our game and team apparel that will surely impact our recruiting process."
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!