Neon jerseys make Adidas a big March Madness winner

Less than a month ago, the backlash over Louisville, Baylor, Cincinnati's adidas adiZero uniforms carried a common theme amongst college basketball fans: hideous and atrocious — or at the very least, non-traditional.

"A lot of people don’t like them because they say we look like highlighters," said Louisville guard Peyton Siva of the Cardinals' "InfraRED" jerseys — more a mix or orange and pink than the school's regular red. Baylor's "Electricity" uniforms — neon yellow all the way down to the socks and shoelaces — also drew criticism.

Lawrence Norman heard the doubters, even from a friend's daughter who lived in Baylor's hometown of Waco, Texas. That led Norman, adidas' Vice President for Global Basketball, to ask the same friend to query his AAU team of 14 and 15 year olds about the Bears' new threads.

"He sent me their first names and their response to the uniforms, and every one of them had the word 'swag' in their response," Norman said. "It was unanimous that they all liked it."

Norman said he's also had 100 percent positive feedback from college players, and with the added swagger came winning at the right time.

Louisville advanced to a Final Four matchup against Kentucky wearing the adiZero uniforms, and Baylor and Cincinnati both reached the Sweet 16 playing in jerseys that adidas says are on average 28 percent lighter than what teams wore during the regular season.

Colors were then amplified "to pay homage to the high intensity" of the NCAA Tournament.

Adidas staked claim to the No. 1 brand in the Sweet 16, beating out Nike, Jordan Brand and Russell Athletic with the most teams still playing after the NCAA Tournament's first weekend.

"When you go out on a limb and take risks, not everybody's going to like what you do, and that's OK," Norman said. "I feel like, during this March Madness, once it's over and in retrospect looking back, I'm very proud to say that we're the talk of the tournament and that our teams have excelled in these uniforms."

Specialized jerseys are a relative commonplace in college sports nowadays, from "white outs" and "black outs" to uniforms that cater to throwbacks, such as the Michigan-Notre Dame football game last fall.

Nike unveiled a "Platinum" college basketball line earlier this season — predominantly gray jerseys worn by traditional powerhouses including Syracuse and Kentucky.

The brand is also known for introducing flashy Oregon jerseys at an alarming rate.

"I think from an aesthetics point of view, it creates a buzz." said Jimmy Smith, a University of Louisville senior who cheers for Kentucky and contributes to BleedBlueKentucky.

Smith bought Nike Platinum pants when the jerseys were introduced and pointed out customized Kentucky shirts by Nike containing such phrases as "refuse to lose" for why the brand is beneficial for fans.

Adidas rolled out its adiZero line during March for a simple reason: It's when most fans are watching college basketball.

Norman said in addition to any performance advantage the uniforms brought, "It's also something new that can bring their players together as a team."

Maybe that explains part of Louisville's run, which was nothing less than Infra-ridiculous. Wearing their adiZero uniforms, the Cardinals won four games in as many days to capture the Big East Tournament title and chose to keep the jerseys for the NCAA Tournament.

"The players would kill me if I tried to change," said Louisville coach Rick Pitino after winning the Big East. "The players love them. They're undefeated in them. It would be silly to change right now.”

Echoed Louisville guard Russ Smith: "I want these jerseys every game."

As the higher seed in Saturday's Final Four game against Kentucky, Louisville will sport the all-InfraRED adiZero uniforms again after wearing white with Infrared trim in its Elite Eight victory over Florida.

The same barrage of Internet outcry is to be expected when the Cardinals take this weekend.

But Norman said that "to be the story of March Madness is a cool thing."

Well, at least the No. 2 story. The Louisville-Kentucky matchup marks the first between in-state teams in the Final Four in 50 years, when Cincinnati knocked off Ohio State in the 1962 National Championship.

Louisville now has a chance to avenge a Dec. 31 loss to Kentucky wearing adiZero gear.

"The most important reason why we come to work is figuring out how we can give athletes a competitive advantage — make them one step quicker, jump one inch higher and give them extra confidence," Norman said.

Creating brand advocates from a young age

That's down to even basketball's developmental levels.

It was announced in November that adidas will be the McDonald's All-American Game's official footwear, uniform and apparel provider. Jerseys worn by the country's top high school players will build on adiZero technology seen in the NCAA Tournament, as well as adidas' NBA uniforms.

The McDonald's game partnership adds to a series of adidas activity at the high school level, where Nike, Jordan Brand maintain a presence.

Evan Daniels, Scout/FOXSports.com National Basketball Recruiting Analyst, said that when it comes to brands infiltrating high school basketball, "It is what it is."

"All these shoe companies are involved in grassroots," Daniels said.

That comes with pros and cons.

While brand loyalty amongst high school players sparks rumors on the recruiting trail, it also opens up opportunities that wouldn't be possible otherwise.

"I think the reason it's a positive is because it allows these kids to have opportunities to play on high-level, high-profile AAU teams around the country and be seen by top-notch coaches," Daniels said.

The goal of garnering attention is, obviously, to earn a scholarship and compete at college basketball's highest level: Division I, the NCAA Tournament, and ultimately the Final Four.

This year's Final Four measures up as a brand showcase: Kentucky (Nike) versus Louisville (adidas) and Ohio State (Nike) versus Kansas (adidas).

How much brands actually influence recruits' decisions is debatable.

"With certain schools," said Smith, such as his Wildcats or North Carolina, "it wouldn't really matter what brand they are. They're going to recruit the way they do. At the end of the day, the kids are going to want to play for a coach and a system."

But having the right swag doesn't hurt.

Jonathan Lintner is a Spring 2012 USA TODAY Collegiate Correspondent. Learn more about him here.

This story originally appeared on the USA TODAY College blog, a news source produced for college students by student journalists. The blog closed in September of 2017.