Athletic Department strikes five year deal with Nike, BSN Sports

Athletic+Department+strikes+five+year+deal+with+Nike%2C+BSN+Sports

Graphic by Annalise Freimarck

Cameron Oleary, Reporter

De Anza Athletics announced a five year partnership with Best Supply Network in sports and Nike via Twitter which will give all 17 sports teams new uniforms and also help provide equipment for the kinesiology department.

Mendoza said that while the department and student athletes continue to monitor the news on social media, this is an opportunity to plan for the future.

Eric Mendoza, dean of physical education and fitness, said that the opportunities the partnership will bring to the entire physical education program as a whole together under one company.

“It made sense for us to bundle all of our resources to find a company that can service all the things that we’re asking for and at the same time enter into an agreement with Nike,” Mendoza said.

Mendoza also said that BSN Sports has multiple affiliations with athletic companies, which will allow him to fix equipment easier than it was before the deal.

“The customer service aspect is something that we were looking for to make it easier for our department. It saves time for our staff having to chase down different service agencies reps and different companies,” Mendoza said.

All student athletes out of De Anza’s 17 athletic programs will get the chance to wear Nike uniforms and apparel. Mendoza said this is due to De Anza’s athletic ability and reputation.

“BSN and Nike are very selective with schools they partner with and we’re honored they thought highly enough of De Anza College to include us in their family of partners,” he said.

In addition, the kinesiology and physical education departments will gain new equipment, such as new athletic gear for the weight rooms.

Luke Sayre, 18, business major and basketball player said he is looking forward to wearing the Michael Jordan branded uniforms before they switch to the new mascot and Nike uniforms.

“I’m pretty excited for the Jordan ones because I’ve never worn Jordan before,” Sayre said. “I think having the Jordan brand even though it’s still technically under Nike, but having something not just as Nike is pretty cool.”

Mendoza said they will be doing the best to keep everyone updated through social media and is trying to make sure that student athletes have something to look forward to following the pandemic.

“So there are some exciting things despite being away from everybody we are still working hard to make De Anza better when our student athletes get back to campus,” Mendoza said.