Ohio State is heading into March Madness in style as the team has received custom Air Force 1 that come equipped with Ohio State-themed velcro patches. The patches range from the Ohio State logos to extra Nike swooshes and even some Buckeyes. We will be on the look out as other Nike school such as Duke, Villanova, Kentucky, Oregon, and UCONN are set to receive pairs as well.
Kevin Durant and Nike have released the twelfth edition of Durant’s signature shoes. These signature KD shoes are a balance of comfort and responsiveness. For the first time in Nike history, the KD12 features a full-length Air Zoom unit stitched directly to the upper. This will allow the foot to be closer to the airbag for elevated responsiveness. This design will allow for the broken-in feel Durant craves on the court. The shoes will be constructed with a lightweight multilayer mesh upper that uses minimal backing material for less stiffness and that broken-in feel.
“It’s one of the unsung heroes in footwear. The strobel isn’t approached differently other than how it’s been done over the last few decades. And yet it’s literally what separates your foot from the cushioning.” -Leo Chang, Senior Creative Director for Nike Basketball Footwear
The first colorway of the sneaker we see is named “90s Kid,” and they are inspired by Nike’s experimentation with the bright neon green colors and splattered finishes of the era. The shoe’s comfort and exposed stitching are inspired by worn-in, vintage ’90s T-shirts, which KD still collects.
Oklahoma City Thunder have become the latest NBA to adopt the jersey patch. Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores will now sit on the left chest area of all Thunder jerseys. The logo features a heart shape stacked on each other with a yellow square that reads Love’s.
“A partner of the Thunder since 2008, Love’s is the retail fuel industry leader in highway hospitality. The privately held, family-owned company was founded by Tom and Judy Love in 1964 when they opened a small filling station in Western Oklahoma. Today, more than 23,000 Love’s team members serve the trucking industry and motoring public at nearly 500 locations in 41 states. “ - Thunder
BYU and Nike have inked up a new 7-year contract to continue their all-sport footwear, apparel and equipment partnership through 2025-26. The new agreement between the two will more than double the annual value of the previous Nike agreement and will include annual cash compensation for BYU Athletics.
“We’ve had a relationship with BYU for nearly 40 years now. We don’t have a better relationship in the country, than the one we have with BYU. We are very proud of it. We love the relationship and the program.” - Phil Knight Nike Co-Founder.
BYU was one of the first universities in the country to join the Nike family back in the late-1970s. The partnership with BYU football dates back to a friendship between BYU football coach LaVell Edwards, Nike executive Bill Kellar and Nike co-founder Phil Knight.
— Northwestern Basketball (@NUMensBball) March 7, 2019
Northwestern has unveiled their special “By The Players” Senior Day uniform. This marks the third time in program history that Northwestern basketball has created these special 'By The Players' uniforms. The tradition has allowed each senior class to meet with UA representatives to help design the uniform they will wear on their Senior Day. This year’s uniform was inspired by the 1990’s NBA uniforms, the decade in which the players fell in love with the game of basketball. The uniform features a new Wildcat logo that is in line with the look of the 90s. We see on the shorts and shooting shirt that the Wildcat is featured prominently. The trim of the jersey features the Chicago Star as well as ‘NU’ and ‘PTR’ to reference the team’s motto “Pound The Rock”. On the shooting shirts we see the word Brothers’ in the nameplate area with every team member's name behind it. Northwestern has found a great way to celebrate their seniors and allow them to be a part of the design process.
Oregon’s Women’s Basketball team received a special pair of kicks designed by Tinker Hatfield himself. Each player got a pair of the exclusive Air Jordan 6s as they prepare for the post season. The crispy white Jordan 6s are accented with black and Oregon’s neon green. To take the Oregon branding a step farther on the back heal we see the Oregon wing pattern as well as the Oregon O on the sides of the shoes.
March Madness is set to begin and with the tournament comes special gear for the teams. Jordan schools have been given exclusive Why Not? Zer0.2 and Air Jordan 4 for each of their players. We see each pair of shoes in the school colorway with special tongue tags that feature the schools logo.
Clemson Basketball will turn back the clocks with these retro uniforms. The white base uni feature the old school clemson wordmark across the chest with the retro piping found throughout the jersey and shorts.
K-State is breaking out their retro two-tone lavender uniforms. The Wildcats will bring the Lavender tops and dark purple shorts back to the hardwood and look to tap into the success the uniforms brought previous K-State teams.
"They were magical," Wildcat alum Chuckie Williams said of the two-tone uniforms. "They were different because back then uniforms were the standard school colors, basically, all across the country. They were different, that's for sure, and they did grab attention. I thought they were great. We loved them."
The Gators Basketball team is celebrating 100th year of Florida Gators basketball with special throwback uniforms. The throwback uniforms will honor the first final four team in program history. The team will hit the hardwood in the 1993-94 throwback uniforms on Saturday, Feb. 23 against Missouri.
