WKU, Russell Athletic agree to five-year contract extension
Published 7:01 pm Monday, August 31, 2015
- Right: The new Western Kentucky football uniforms are displayed Thursday at Greenwood Mall. Below: WKU coach Bobby Petrino unveils the uniforms at the event. Photos by Alex Slitz/Daily News
Western Kentucky and Russell Athletic announced Monday a five-year, $3.5 million contract extension through June 30, 2021.
The new deal begins July 1, 2016, and allows the Bowling Green-based Russell Athletic to continue providing WKU with uniforms, as well as sideline, workout and travel apparel.
“This is a great day for us,” said Robby Davis, Russell Athletic senior vice president and general manager. “We’re really proud to renew our sponsorship with Western Kentucky here in Bowling Green. We’re neighbors in the community here. It’s been a good ride, and we look forward to next five years and bringing some new and exciting things to the uniforms. We’ve got some great design ideas and exciting things we’re working on.”
Russell Athletic has been an official partner of WKU since 2007.
The pair’s last deal, put in effect in 2011, runs through the upcoming school year and was worth $1.735 million.
“I think, ironically, both of us have grown together,” WKU athletic director Todd Stewart said. “Certainly, we’re much further along today – especially in football – than we were in 2007. I think they’ve had the same type of growth, so the fact that we’re both here in Bowling Green, we’ve kind of been linked at the hip since 2007. We’re thrilled to extend that by five more years.”
A redesign of the Hilltoppers’ football uniforms, as well as other teams, will be part of the new extension.
Stewart said WKU will “maintain the integrity of the brand” and won’t take uniform overhauls to the extreme, but that Russell Athletic will try some new things in the future.
“There’s a creative element to our uniforms going forward, which I think will be a very good component of this,” Stewart said. “We’ve had a lot of positive feedback about the football uniforms that we’ve had. This will be the third year now that we’ve had the football uniforms, so it gives us an opportunity to really change up everything – football and our other sports, too – and sort of adjust with the times. We’ll come out with designs I think our fans will really like.”
