NASHVILLE - The Lipscomb University athletics department has agreed to a 5-year partnership agreement with global apparel leader Under Armour to serve as the Bisons official outfitter beginning July 1, 2019. 

As part of the deal, the Baltimore-based leader in performance footwear, apparel and equipment will provide Lipscomb’s 17 varsity sports with on-field and off-field training gear, in addition to outfitting the coaching staffs and the rest of the athletic department.

“This agreement with Under Armour will benefit Lipscomb Athletics on the recruiting front, in training and in competition,” Director of Athletics Philip Hutcheson said. “Since its beginning over 20 years ago, Under Armour has been focused on making products designed to help athletes perform at their best and I am confident that will be the case for our Bison athletes.

“Coming off of one of the greatest competitive years in the history of Lipscomb Athletics, I am excited to see what’s next for us and I’m glad to have Under Armour as a part of the plan to elevate our programs. Recruits, serious athletes and casual fans alike all are familiar with the Under Armour brand and we are proud they will be outfitting our Bison fans and teams in the coming years.”  

Lipscomb will join an elite Under Armour family of NCAA partners that include Auburn, Boston College, California, Cincinnati, Maryland, Northwestern, Notre Dame, South Carolina, Texas Tech, UCLA, USC and Wisconsin. 

Not only is it new territory for the department, but the Bisons are the only members of the ASUN Conference to have an exclusive, direct partnership with the apparel giant. 

A direct partnership will bring a number of opportunities to the table that did not previously exist. It will help with recruiting, operational support, and brand awareness for Lipscomb’s emerging program in the Division I landscape. A few of the benefits include, but are not limited to:

• Annual allotment of promotional dollars to be spent on apparel, equipment and uniforms
• Significantly reduced rate on all additional apparel and equipment purchases
• Marketing and branding dollars to enhance the athletics facilities
• Direct access to UA’s inventory and customer service

*Men’s soccer will have the ability to join the Under Armour agreement in year four, as they had a pre-existing contract with soccer outfitter PUMA through the 2021-22 fiscal year.

“In addition to the benefits in competition, there were a lot of pluses that Under Armour could offer us in terms of planning and purchasing that will help us be more efficient and to free up more dollars to help our student athletes in other ways,” Hutcheson said. “In addition to thanking Under Armour, I also want to be sure to thank our Associate A.D. for External Affairs, Brent McMillian, for his work with this partnership.

“Brent spent a lot of time evaluating Under Armour against other options, with our coaches and teams making sure they felt good about UA and in evaluating the numbers in order to make sure this was a good fit for Lipscomb and I appreciate his great work throughout the process.”

The Lipscomb University Bookstore can be fans’ one-stop shop for new Lipscomb-branded UA gear with a number of items already in store. The bookstore is a proud partner of Lipscomb Athletics and its bookshelves will feature the full line of products this fall. 

Get your gear HERE.