The university signed a contract on May 22, 2012, that made Russell Brands the athletic apparel sponsor of all university sports, with the exception of women’s soccer.

“We had sent out a request for proposal to three apparel providers — Nike, Adidas and Russell,” said Athletic Director Mark Linder. “Russell was the first to respond and we quickly worked out a deal.”

The university was sponsored by Nike from 2009 to 2012 but decided to go with Russell for branding reasons, Linder said.

“We really felt like Russell saw the true value of the UNA brand and that helped ease our decision,” Linder said. 

The quality of the brand had a big impact on the choice to go with Russell, he said.

“We are really excited about this new deal,” he said. “We think Russell is a fantastic brand with a number of quality products.”  

Russell will provide game apparel, practice apparel, travel apparel, workout apparel, sideline apparel and active wear for UNA athletics, according to the contract provided by the athletic department.

The value, discount and free gear that Russell offers were the biggest reasons UNA went with them over Nike, Linder said.

“Like I said before, we felt like Russell saw the true value of UNA,” he said. “Russell also offered us a significantly larger discount on apparel and more access to free gear.”

The money the university does get will be disbursed amongst each individual sport, Linder said. 

Teams with fewer student athletes will receive less money than sports with more student athletes, he said. 

The contract with Russell is a five-year deal that began during the 2012-2013 academic year and will expire after the completion of the 2016-2017 academic year.

Russell holds the right to negotiate a new contract with the university at the end of the 2015-2016 academic year, according to the contract.

Editor’s note: Page two of the contract reads, “Russell shall also provide, as a credit valued at retail prices, the performance incentives set forth in Exhibit C.” The athletic department did not provide The Flor-Ala with Exhibit C of the contract.