University of Michigan and Jordan Brand: A Legacy Forged in Maize and Blue

From college hoops to gridiron greatness, Michael Jordan's $6.6 billion empire has expanded across arenas through savvy endorsements, reaching the highest of heights. The University of Michigan's partnership with the Jordan Brand is a testament to this success, blending athletic tradition with the iconic Jumpman logo.

The Genesis of a Colossus: Jordan Brand's Launch

When Michael Jordan announced Brand Jordan in September 1997, he had already cemented his legacy with five NBA championships and two Olympic gold medals. Scoring his own subsidiary under Nike’s then-$9.1 billion umbrella, Jordan Brand was primed to make it rain immediately. The Jumpman sought to fly higher internationally and across arenas, estimated to make $300 million alone in Mike’s first year as CEO and last season in the Windy City. The plan put together by MJ, Phil Knight, Howard White, Larry Miller, and many others came to fruition.

A Championship Pedigree: Michigan's Triumph

Twenty-seven years later, the master plan put together by MJ, Phil Knight, Howard White, Larry Miller, and many others came to fruition on Monday night. The $6.6 billion sportswear brand achieved greatness in a new field as the Jordan-endorsed University of Michigan won the College Football Playoff final, winning its first national championship since 1997. Adorning MJ’s emblem in all its glory, the title-toting team from Ann Arbor was outfitted in Air Jordan apparel as far as the eye could see. From sideline hats to receiver gloves, bubble jackets to championship tees, maize and blue items hosted the infamous block “M” and flying Jordan silhouette from the opening kickoff to the trophy ceremony. Every bit of benefit from the brand’s $169 million endorsement was visible and victorious on primetime television for hours on ESPN and through highlights intended to last forever.

On the heels of Jim Harbaugh‘s team winning it all in Air Jordan, Boardroom breaks down the history of Jordan Brand’s growing championship pedigree that’s expanding almost annually.

A Perfect Match: The 2015 Deal

The year was 2015 when the Greatest of All Time (GOAT), Michael Jordan, decided to take a chance on collaborating with the Michigan Wolverines on an apparel deal. The school’s previous shoe deal had just ended and it was fortuitous that the Jordan Brand was looking to enter the college football market. Michael Jordan and his Jordan Brand brought aboard the Michigan Wolverines, adding the “first football team to the Jordan family,” per the man himself.

It was merely a year ago that Jordan Brand and the University of Michigan joined forces to outfit the first-ever college football team with Jumpman football uniforms. According to Chow, this collaboration is tailored towards the needs of the players and coaches. This unique Air Jordan 12 features a handsome blue nubuck upper, but it is unlikely that any of us common folk will be able to buy it. The maize “M” is seen on the right tongue while the blue Jumpman is featured on the left.

In 2015, the University of Michigan signed a 15-year, $173.8 million deal with the Air Jordan brand to be the program's exclusive apparel sponsor. The company paid an initial $12 million to the university, followed by $76.8 million in total annual payments and $85 million worth of apparel. The deal was the largest apparel deal in college football at the time but has since been surpassed by The University of Texas' 15-year, $200 million and Ohio State's 15-year, $252 million deals with Nike.

August 1st marked a historical day for the University of Michigan as they re-established a partnership with Nike that will run through 2027, with the option to extend to 2031. If Michigan exercises the option, they will be paid at least $173.8M - $88.8M in base compensation and $85M in Nike apparel/products.

Harbaugh's Influence

While Michigan has struggled in recent years and fallen behind blue-chip programs such as Ohio State and Alabama on the field, there is plenty of momentum and energy building within the program. A major reason for that is new coach Jim Harbaugh, who returned to lead his alma mater this offseason after a stint in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers. Darren Rovell of ESPN pointed out that Harbaugh was the driving point behind the new agreement.

It was in 2015 when Harbaugh took on the responsibility of trying to bring the Wolverines’ football program back to its lofty perch. According to the former NFL star-turned-coach, his son, Jay, gave him the idea of perhaps becoming a Jordan-backed school.

Read also: History of the Block 'M'

"When we first took the job here, there was a shoe contract that was up," Harbaugh said in 2018. "There's a lot of good shoes out there, etc. My son, Jay, came up with the idea. He's like, 'There's no Jordan football school. That would be pretty awesome.'"

Back in December of 2015, on his second official day as head coach, Harbaugh approached then-interim athletic director Jim Hackett about switching back to Nike. With the influence of the younger Harbaugh, and strong input from Woodson, Coach Harbaugh received a call from the legend himself, Michael Jordan. Initially, Coach Harbaugh couldn’t believe it.

“My phone rang and it was a number I didn’t know, and I said, ‘Hello,’ and I didn’t catch the whole name. You know how cell phones cut out sometimes. I got part of it, and I said, ‘Excuse me, the phone cut out. Who’s this?’“And he said, ‘This is Michael Jordan.’ And I said, ‘Come on!’ And he says, ‘This is Michael Jordan.’ And I went, ‘The real Michael Jordan?’ So that’s kind of how it went. It was really cool.”

Aesthetically Pleasing but Sticking to Tradition

After the jersey unveiling on Tuesday, Michigan took to social media what their new uniforms would look like: aesthetically pleasing but sticking to tradition. There weren’t drastic changes to their new look but the simple addition of the Jordan ‘Jumpman’ on a football uniform was enough to spark positive reviews from players, alumni, fans, and most importantly high school recruits.

The Jordan Effect: More Than Just Apparel

The Michigan Wolverines Football Team is sponsored by Jordan because the company wanted to enter the college football market and associate with a massive program to make a big splash. The Wolverines were the perfect candidates. They had just hired Jim Harbaugh to lead the program and were the talk of the town in college football in 2015 when the Air Jordan brand planned to enter the college football scene.

Read also: Legacy of Fordham University

On paper, this pairing makes plenty of sense. The Jordan logo is one of the most iconic in all of sports, and the winged helmets and maize and blue jerseys of Michigan are some of the most famous uniforms in college football. What’s more, this could help the Wolverines once again climb into the upper echelon of college football. It may take some time, but adding the Jordan brand to the program could theoretically help in recruiting. Former Super Bowl MVP and Michigan alumnus Desmond Howard added that Jordan Brand’s collaboration with Michigan gave the school extra leverage to sign highly coveted recruits. After all, few college athletes get to rock exclusive Jordan Brand apparel and shoes while playing on the field.

“Michigan was a perfect match for what they represent and what we brought to the table,” Miller said. “That opened up the idea of Jordan Brand on the football field.”

In the first season with Jordan Brand, Michigan’s most watched games came at the hands of losses to Ohio State and FSU. Since then, the Wolverines brand has ascended. Michigan has won four division titles, made the College Football Playoff three times, and beat rival Ohio State three straight years (after Harbaugh’s squad lost his first five matchups against the Buckeyes).

Just months ago, in 2023, that third consecutive UM win over OSU pulled in over 19 million viewers, with the Wolverines all in Jumpman gear. By beating both Nike-laced Alabama and Adidas-outfitted Washington in the 2024 College Football Playoff, Jordan Brand brought in eyeballs and equity to its emblem and football business. No longer is the brand known nationally for just red retros but rather for schools and sports of all sorts.

In a quarter where most companies reel after holiday shopping fatigue, Jordan Brand will move millions of units in just footwear but celebratory t-shirts and hats tied to Michigan’s wins in the Rose Bowl and National Championship.

Merging Corporate Business with College Athletics

Prior to 1994, apparel contracts with universities were unheard of, and it was common for various athletic teams within the same university to wear different brands. At the time, coaches were getting paid more than universities for major shoe deals. In October of 1994, Michigan changed the commercialization of apparel deals in college athletics when it inked a six-year, $7M contract with Nike to cover jerseys, shoes, and equipment for all 25 athletic programs. This was a major milestone for college sports as it marked a university merging with corporate business. Subsequently, in 2001, athletic director Bill Martin elevated that contract into a colossal seven-year, $28M deal aided by the success of Michigan football.

A Look Back: Michigan's Uniform Evolution

The 2016 U-M college football uniform might be the first to carry Nike’s Michael Jordan Jumpman logo, but other details-from the font to the fabric-represent decades of development. So before we usher in a new era-U-M’s $173.8 million deal with Nike is a 15-year contract-let’s celebrate the past.

The Michigan football program debuts with the players looking more tidy than tough. As The Chronicle, a weekly U-M student newspaper put it, “On Wednesday evening, the eleven appeared on campus for the fi rst time in their new suits. They presented quite a neat appearance. Although the new uniform includes this sleeveless vest, players are also allowed to wear older uniforms, which accounts for the different “M” versions on each jersey. By the 1900s, football trousers are mostly made of moleskin-a strong, twilled cotton fabric-and include internal thigh and knee pads. The blue jersey with shoulder, elbow, and forearm pads first appears in photos in 1898 and will be the standard until 1911. Numerals on the back of the jerseys first appear in 1915. The 1931 team is the first to wear jerseys with front numerals in games. The arrival of Coach “Fritz” Crisler marks the debut of the winged helmet, now one of the most instantly recognizable icons in college sports. Crisler thinks the distinctive helmet will help his halfbacks find receivers downfield. His hunch proves right. In the season opener, the Wolverines defeat Michigan State 14-0. Just before the 1948 Rose Bowl, this player and his fiancée appear on the cover of LOOK magazine. It is one of the earliest known color photos of the Michigan uniform. Note the Maize and Blue hues. Bo Schembechler arrives and makes a few changes to the uniform. Numbers are placed on both home and away-game sleeves (which a decade earlier were also emblazoned with the Block M). White pants are introduced for away games in 1974 and continue through 1975. The following season, yellow pants become the standard for both home and away games. Numbers, which have been on the helmet since 1956, disappear in 1975 and the center stripe is extended to the base. The helmet achievement stickers also change from gold footballs to the head of a snarling wolverine. Adidas empowers players by sewing “M GO BLUE” inside their jerseys. Nike, once again U-M’s apparel provider, makes several changes behind the seams. (Nike last had an apparel contract with U-M from 1994 to 2007.) The winged helmet has a matte finish, the road jersey has TV numbers on the top of the shoulder, and the maize is slightly darker.

Jordan Brand Beyond Football

Air Jordan is primarily a basketball brand and makes most of its money with shoe sales. So why does the brand sponsor the Wolverines? Jordan’s goal, according to Harbaugh is to create a new synergy around college football where players and recruits will look at the innovation surrounding the Jordan partnership with Michigan much in the same way Nike has established a flagship with Oregon football. There is no doubt, this will change the landscape of college football, and only time will tell how big of an impact this will truly have.

Harbaugh continues to steal the spotlight, and he absolutely loves it. The big house will be jumping like Jordan, who will in fact be their honorary captain for their season opener against Hawaii on September 3rd. The University of Michigan signed its 15-year, $173.8 million agreement with the Jordan brand in August 2015 and switched to the Jordan brand in August 2016. The Wolverines were the first team to sign a deal with the iconic brand.

Basketball and Beyond: Jordan's Collegiate Reach

In 1997, Michael Jordan jumped into direct competition with Converse, Adidas, Reebok, and Nike by becoming an on-court sponsor of college basketball’s best. The inaugural Jordan Brand universities included Cincinnati, St. John’s, Cal, and North Carolina A&T. Two years later, Mike made the obvious money move by inking an agreement with his alma mater, North Carolina.

Over the brand’s nearly three decades, seven schools signed to Jordan Brand have competed in the men’s National Championship. Had the Kansas Jayhawks signed with MJ as expected in 2005, that number would’ve increased to 10 of the last 18 outings.

Few college basketball teams are more revered than the University of Michigan’s Fab Five. Michigan’s 1991 recruiting class of Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson played with a brashness that made an instant impact on college hoops. Their play was matched by the moxie in how they dressed, donning baggy shorts, black sneakers and black socks all by Nike. The young phenoms ran the court with confidence beyond their years. Even though their run was limited to two seasons, the five true freshmen changed the way the college game was played and how players looked. Their dominance ran parallel with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls first three-peat from 1991-1993. The fact that both entities shared direct connections with Nike gave the brand a combo punch as it came to captivating fans’ attention and focusing it on what the players were wearing.

Michigan’s trendsetting history on the court stretches back to mid-‘80s with Jordan’s parent company Nike. The school’s hoops squad became one of eight chosen to receive team-issue Dunks as part of the “Be True to Your School” campaign. At the time, the move stood out as it created a color punch over the usual white-based shoes most teams sported. Michigan’s navy and maize, Syracuse’s orange and white and St. John’s red and white Dunks still resonate with buyers. It’s the reason why they’ve seen numerous reissues since the original release.

Expanding the Empire: Other Jordan-Sponsored Teams

What college football teams wear the Jordan brand? Nine college football teams wear the Jordan brand: the Michigan Wolverines, North Carolina Tar Heels, Florida Gators, Oklahoma Sooners, UCLA Bruins, Morehouse Tigers, Norfolk State Spartans, Houston Cougars, and Howard Bison. Currently, the Michigan Wolverines, North Carolina Tar Heels, Florida Gators, Oklahoma Sooners, UCLA Bruins, Morehouse Tigers, Norfolk State Spartans, Houston Cougars, Cincinnati Bearcats, San Diego State Aztecs, Marquette Golden Eagles, Georgetown Hoyas, and Howard Bison all wear Jordan Brand in basketball competition. Of that group, Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Howard, and Oklahoma all lace up Jordan Brand for football. Heading into 2024, Oklahoma, Michigan, Florida, and North Carolina all have Top 40 recruiting classes.

Since becoming a Brand Jordan basketball program, the Tar Heels have cut down the nets three times. In 2005, Raymond Felton and Sean May restored powder blue prominence by beating Nike-sponsored Illinois in retro and performance offerings made by Mike. Four years later, Tyler Hansborough helped the Heels demolish Swoosh-sponsored Michigan State for another natty title that placed Air Jordan sneakers on the ladder steps. Recently, in 2017, it was Theo Pinson who helped UNC knock-off Nike school Gonzaga en route to the school’s sixth national championship in men’s basketball. A year later, North Carolina re-upped with the Portland power for $60 million, ensuring that the school’s basketball and football programs would continue to wear the Jumpman. All in all, UNC men’s basketball boasts six national championships. While the first three were won in Converse, the last three have been won in Jordan.

The Future of Jordan Brand in College Sports

Still, time and talent suggest that another natty on the hardwood could come first. As of January 2024, the UCLA Bruins women’s basketball team and Houston Cougars men’s basketball team are both ranked No. 2 in the nation, respectively. The Lady Bruins have never won a national title, nor has Jordan Brand ever claimed top team honors in the women’s collegiate game. Led by Kiki Rice - Jordan Brand’s first NIL athlete - both notions could change come April. On the men’s side, Jordan Brand currently claims a quarter of the Top 25 rankings in NCAA basketball. In a year where the field appears wide open, a school styled in Air Jordans could certainly run the table, with Houston, UCLA, and North Carolina all appearing in the Final Four in the last three seasons. Theoretically, talent on the NCAA hardwood will, in some part, be fed by the likes of Link and Oak Hill Academy - both national champions on the high school level backed by Jordan Brand.

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