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November 19, 2020

Under Armour Exits Another College Sponsorship

The sportswear manufacturer reached a buyout agreement with the University of Cincinnati.

By  Christopher Ruvo

Under Armour continued an ongoing revamp and cost scale-down of its business by striking a deal to get out of a $50 million sponsorship with the University of Cincinnati.

Under Armour Headquarters

The Baltimore-based athletic apparel and footwear brand entered a buyout agreement in which it will have to pay a $9.75 million exit charge to Cincinnati and provide $3.65 million worth of product to the university through June 2021, according to the Baltimore Business Journal.

The buyout, which essentially ends the entities’ partnership five years before it was scheduled to conclude, becomes effective July 1.

“We are still an Under Armour school, powered by innovation with a great partner,” John Cunningham, athletics director at the University of Cincinnati, said in a statement. “We adjusted the terms of our partnership in a manner that was best for both parties given the changes that have occurred in our industry over the past six months.”

The break with Cincinnati has gone far better than Under Armour’s exit from a $280 million sponsorship deal with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), which was the largest branded apparel sponsorship deal in college sports history.

UCLA sued Under Armour for $200 million after the apparel maker terminated the deal. The legal battle is ongoing.

Under Armour also recently announced that it will cut 2,000 to 3,000 stores from retail distribution over the next couple of years. The sportswear manufacturer will continue to sell its products in the promotional products industry.

Under Armour has been executing a restructuring plan aimed, in part, at cutting costs and getting more efficient.

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