Good morning, and thanks for spending part of your day with Extra Points.
For my college sports industry readers, just a quick reminder that I am flying out to Las Vegas for NACDA on Sunday morning, and will be in Vegas through Wednesday morning. I’ve still got some unscheduled time (especially on Monday) and I’d love to catch up! Shoot me an email or text if you’d like to say hi during the conference.
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Last year, I published a story about Pat Flynn, a former Under Armour executive who was trying to push schools to go in a completely new direction with their athletic apparel contracts. Rather than selling exclusive rights to one equipment provider for every sport and every piece of equipment, Flynn suggested that schools leave the shoe category open, so athletes could wear whatever they want on the court and pursue their own NIL partnerships. Via that story:
Let’s say, to pick a random school here, Murray State signs an athletic apparel contract with Nike. Nike agrees to give Murray State a certain amount of free stuff, while also letting the school purchase footwear, uniforms and other equipment at substantially discounted rates.
But in order to keep the deal, everybody has to wear Nike stuff, unless there are special carve-outs for sports where Nike doesn’t make all the required equipment. That means everybody is wearing Nike jerseys during the game, Nike t-shirts at practice, Nike hoodies during official athletic department media events, and of course, Nike shoes during the game…coaches and players. Nike is buying the exclusive rights to outfit everybody.
But Flynn doesn’t think it has to be that way forever. What if, hypothetically, Nike just bought the rights to outfit the apparel and uniforms for Murray State? What if every Murray State athlete or entire sport could decide to wear whatever shoes they wanted, or even better, whatever shoes another company paid them to wear? This solution would provide that option, along with support to help negotiate and structure the deal on behalf of the athletic department.
“All of these athletic apparel companies, they’re also trying to compete in the NIL arms race, you know? By splitting these up, the brands have a chance to do something really different and add storytelling to their NIL conversation.” Flynn says offering an opportunity like this should seek support to guide the entire process.
Well, in 2026, one school has decided to take that advice and craft an entirely new kind of athletic apparel contract. Fairleigh Dickinson, an NEC school out in Teaneck, New Jersey, just announced an athletic apparel contract that does not include a shoe partnership.
That’s because their new athletic apparel partner doesn’t even make shoes. Instead of Nike, Under Armour, or adidas, the Knights will be the first D-I school to sign with…Macron.
I’m going to be honest with all of you…I had never heard of Macron. That’s because the Italian-based company is best known for making soccer jerseys. Clubs like Bologna, Crystal Palace, Real Sociedad, and smaller clubs in leagues in places like Poland, Ukraine, Cyprus, and Iceland.
Soccer isn’t all they do. Macron also outfits several European basketball leagues, rugby clubs, and even fencing equipment, which is how they reportedly got on the radar of FDU.
The Knights aren’t the only D-I program to pick somebody other than the heavyweights of Nike, adidas and Under Armour as an outfitter. New Balance currently works with Maine, Boston College, Bryant, and Merrimack. Manhattan announced a deal in 2025 with Capelli Sport. Here’s what those look like:
So working with anybody that isn’t one of the typical wholesalers for the Big Three is unique at the mid and low-major level. But since Macron doesn’t actually make athletic shoes, that means FDU athletes can wear whatever they want. Via the Asbury Press story:
We see it in pro sports all the time. NBA doesn't have a shoe deal. Major League Baseball doesn't have a shoe deal. It's all ankles up. In Europe, it's all ankles up," [FDU Athletic Director Jason] Young said. "College is the only space, and maybe high school is a little bit, where shoes factor in and we've removed that choice from people. But we know feet are just so different for everyone and having the ability for our athletes to choose is just a win-win across the board. And I can't tell you the number of kids who come in my office as recruits and I'm like, hey you're gonna be able to wear whatever you want. And they just light up."
How big of a deal could that be to a school like FDU? Or to other shoe brands?
You might remember FDU as the plucky 16 seed that knocked out mighty Purdue in the Men’s NCAA Tournament in 2023. That was a hell of a moment!
But since that season, FDU has failed to finish above .500, going 11-21 last year. They have one of the smallest budgets in D-I, play in a tiny arena, and are seldom on national, linear television.
I don’t want to suggest that it is impossible for an FDU basketball player to secure an endorsement contract from one of the traditional shoe companies or perhaps a company that doesn’t outfit college basketball teams (like Puma, Li-Ning, 361 Degrees, etc). It is possible. But I would be surprised if those types of players were able to secure large deals that provide a whole lot more than just product. Perhaps if one of those athletes was an influencer for reasons independent of basketball, or if they had a personal connection to a startup shoe company or something…but I wouldn’t expect Puma to throw checks around automatically.
But money isn’t the only way to secure a recruiting advantage. Being able to wear whatever you want is a very big deal to many athletes, especially outside of basketball. The Asbury Press story specifically notes soccer as a potential example, which makes sense. As I’ve written about athletic apparel, I often hear from track coaches (and ex-athletes) who express deep, deep personal preferences for certain brands.
Is that sort of personal flexibility going to swing a recruit to FDU from Rutgers? Probably not. But could it swing somebody away from Wagner or Mercyhurst? Sure, I think that’s possible.
All of this is moot, I guess, if the actual uniforms (and other equipment) that Macron ends up producing aren’t up to snuff. But when you’re anybody in NEC or MAAC (excuse me, The Metro Conference), you can’t afford to play with the same operational playbook that Ohio State or Texas uses. You don’t have Ohio State money, Ohio State manpower or Ohio State branding. So why stick to Ohio State’s apparel partner? Or worse, a wholesaler for Ohio State’s athletic partner?
Maybe for the majority of schools, the old way is still best. But if FDU (and perhaps Manhattan as well) can make these new partnerships work, perhaps others should push for similar flexibility with their next deal.
