Frontier High School in New Matamoras, Ohio, recently became the latest high school to enter into a a corporate sponsorship agreement with Nike and Dixie Team Sports, according to the Marietta Times. The report indicated that Dixie now has more than 50 Nike all-school deals in place for colleges and
high schools in the midwest region, which includes West Virginia, Southeast Ohio
and the Pittsburgh area.
Most of those came about within the last
year-and-a-half.
“Nike's goal is to have a Nike swoosh on every athlete in America,” said Todd Northrup, midwest regional sales manager for Dixie. “As you can see on Saturdays, they dominate college sports. Now their next approach is to dominate high school.”
The way the deal works is the school gets a set amount of “promotional goods” from Nike and Dixie. These can include items like uniforms, apparel and footwear.
In return, Dixie is “our primary supplier of all athletic needs,” Frontier High School Principal Jack Mental told the newspaper. That covers all sports at the school, for grades seven through 12.
Nike is “a brand that everybody wants to wear anyway,” Northrup said. “When it's Nike and you're also being rewarded for wearing the product, it's a win-win for everybody involved.”
Marietta High School athletic director Rick Guimond said the school has no corporate sponsorship deal and hasn't been approached about one. The school's athletic uniforms and equipment are purchased by funds from the district and the athletic boosters.
