When’s a better time to drop an innovative cleat than ahead of one of the highly anticipated games this season with one of the coaches who brings the most swag to college football?
As a part of building culture, Oregon football releases its uniform combo behind a hype video. Ahead of the home game against Colorado with Deion Sanders, one of the biggest sports icons in the 90s with his Prime Time persona and his fashion, they used the opportunity with all eyes on them to drop one of the most talked about cleats in the sneaker world.
Heat-activated, color changing Nike Vapor Edge KF Dunks.
In sneakerhead culture, Dunks are one of the most popular shoes at the moment. It’s a staple of fashion that can bring personality to any outfit. But honestly, any shoe that Oregon drops immediately becomes a big conversation. Everyone waits for those short clips to see the uniform combo for the week because Nike is one of the foundations of sports fashion and Oregon deserves a lot of credit for that success.
Through Nike, the Ducks continue to push the envelope with their uniforms, but it wouldn’t be possible without the players.
“Thinking about designing uniforms, our players do have input in that,” Kenny Farr, the football equipment administrator, told Rob Moseley on Oregon’s Virtual Happy Hour. “We have a bunch of former Ducks that are actually involved with that process. Some of the people that work closely with us at Nike.”
Daryle Hawkins, a former wide receiver for the Ducks, was the chief uniform designer for Nike and NCAA football before leaving the company in September 2022. Brandon McLemore, Mattrell McGraw and Bronson Yim also work at Nike to design uniforms for their former school.
Current players also get a say in uniform and cleat decisions, even though they might not get to wear them.
“When we design a uniform or cleat, we are working 18-24 months out,” Farr said. “So a junior and senior may come up with an idea but they won’t be able to wear it because it won’t come out for another two or three seasons.”
Oregon and Nike is the type of partnership where they push each other to be more creative. It’s not only a branding approach, but a philosophical one as well. Even though there’s been some criticism about Phil Knight’s, the founder of Nike, astronomical donations to the university, it’s a partnership like no other.
“It’s the willingness that we have a school and a team to push the envelope on things and look to try new stuff,” Farr said. “Some more traditional schools, if they change the color of a shoelace, alumni would get mad about that.”
Now with NIL in place, players are able to capitalize off of their creativity, which is a major part of Oregon’s brand success.
Through Division Street, a company founded by Phil Knight to help Oregon student-athletes build their own unique brand, participating football players designed an NFT and an Air Max 1 alongside Tinker Hatfield, a former UO athlete and sneaker designer at Nike.
“Oregon is a special place that’s meaningful to each of us individually,” Jamahal Hill, a linebacker for the Ducks, said. “But it’s our work together as a team that makes us who we are. We came from all over, with different backgrounds, experiences and circumstances. Once we landed at Oregon, we became family.”
Oregon wouldn’t be what it is without Nike, and vice versa. But all of that is rooted in the players. Fashion is rooted in sports, but without the experiences and backgrounds of each player, we wouldn’t get the uniform reveals every week. We wouldn’t have gotten the outside-of-the-box cleats that were inspired by a chameleon. Oregon football wouldn’t have strong brand identity without its entire roster and the creativity they bring to the table.
