March Madness has finally arrived, and while 136 teams from across the country will be competing for the ultimate prize, only five brands have a dog in the fight.
The five athletic apparel companies who represent at least one program competing in the big dance are Nike, adidas, Under Armour, Jordan (owned by Nike but some schools are officially "Jordan" schools) and New Balance.
Nike is the overwhelming number one sponsor, repping nearly half of all the men's teams and more than 54% of all women's teams. That number obviously climbs higher when including the schools falling under the Jordan umbrella.
Of the 136 total teams, 83 wear Nike/Jordan.
New Balance barely entered the fold, with its only school being 15-seeded Bryant on the men's side.
Additionally on the men's side, despite representing less than half of the schools that Nike supplies, Under Armour is tied with Nike for the most conference champions with 10.
This year by the numbers:
Men (out of 68)
- Nike: 33
- Under Armour: 14
- adidas: 12
- Jordan: 8
- New Balance: 1
No. 1 seeds
- Nike: 1 (Duke)
- Jordan: 2 (Houston, Florida)
- adidas: 0
- Under Armour: 1 (Auburn)
- New Balance: 0
On the women's side, Nike dwarfs everyone else both in total number, as well as conference champions.
Women (out of 68)
- Nike: 37
- adidas: 14
- Under Armour: 12
- Jordan: 5
- New Balance: 0
No. 1 seeds
- Nike: 2 (Texas, USC)
- adidas: 0
- Under Armour: 1 (South Carolina)
- Jordan: 1 (UCLA)
- New Balance: 0
Nike's dominance in college athletics is nothing new.
In college football, it's even more prominent than basketball. A Nike school has won the college football national championship every year since 2010 when Auburn won. Tennessee ('98), which wore adidas, is the last non-Nike school before the Tigers to win. And guess what ... the Vols sport Nike now.
In college hoops, Nike/Jordan have won 21 of the last 25 men's NCAA titles and 16 of the last 25 women's titles.
Adidas has won seven, three by the men and four by the women, except three of the four from the women have now transitioned to Nike schools (Notre Dame and Tennessee twice).
Under Armour has come on strong in recent years in the women's bracket, thanks in large part to South Carolina, who has won three titles in the past 10 years, and could very well cut down the nets again this season.
Nike has also been powered in large part by UConn, which accounts for 16 of the 50 previous men's and women's champions.
Reebok is the lone outlier not to come from Nike or adidas on the men's side, repping Michigan State in 2000. But the Spartans, too, are now a Nike school.
Previous 25 champions:
Men
- Nike: 18
- Jordan: 3
- adidas: 3
- Reebok: 1
Women
- Nike: 16
- Under Armour: 5
- adidas: 4
Last year's Final Four on both sides showed similar trends, with Nike accounting for five of the eight schools. Had it not been for NC State's improbable run though, the men's Final Four would have been entirely comprised of the Swoosh.
We will see what is in store for this year's tournaments.
Though, despite all the madness, some trends remain the same.
Matt Liberman is a reporter and video producer for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture.