With the field of 65 teams having been whittled down to 16 over the past four days in the 2010 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, Nike was once again the brand seen the most by viewers of the event, as 77% of the teams (50 total) in the field were sporting the Swoosh in some form when play began on Thursday, either as footwear, uniforms, or both. That percentage does not include the three teams who will be outfitted by the Jordan brand, a Nike subsidiary.
The Nike brand has 13 teams remaining and Adidas has three. All of the teams remaining in the tournament are outfitted head-to-toe by one of the two brands.
Nike is assured of at least two Final Four teams, one from the East and one from the West, which was helped by the fact the entire West Regional, led by top-seeded Syracuse and second-seeded Kansas State was outfitted head-to-toe by the brand. A year ago, Nike placed three teams in the Final Four in Detroit, while having a hand in all four, including eventual National Champion, North Carolina, which was outfitted by Jordan.
Adidas was the second-most prominent brand in this year’s event, with 11 teams completely outfitted in the brand’s product, including five teams in the South Regional alone.
Other brands represented in this year’s field included; Nike’s Jordan brand (three teams), Russell Athletic (three teams), Under Armour (one team), CRONS (one team), and Pro Look Sports (one team). Two brands, Converse and Reebok had one team each in the 2009 tournament, but are not represented in this year’s field.
To share your thoughts on the tournament brand brackets, comment on this article below, or contact the SportsOneSource statistician at: statman@SportsOneSource.com.
