Cal officially transitions from Under Armour to Nike

The California Golden Bears officially return to Nike today, and will be with their long-time apparel provider for the next three years.

The Under Armour era is at an end. For the first time since the Sonny Dykes era, Cal is a Nike school once more starting today. Cal will be partnered with Nike for the next three years, with Nike likely waiting out the future of the Bears in the college realignment race.

Here is the official Twitter announcement from Cal Athletics.

You can see generic Cal gear available in Nike branding in the Student Store and the Cal Athletics Store, with likely a wider rollout coming before the start of football season.

Cal did indeed have some nice Under Armour perks.

• Their Joe Roth uniforms were a standout every year.

• Gold helmets were introduced.

• Their retro Cal basketball uniforms were inspired.

But there were downsides to the partnership as well.

• Namely, Under Armour tried to find every reason to avoid paying Cal starting in 2020 when they found wiggle room in the contract.

• Under Armour still provided the necessary apparel to the Cal athletic program through the 2022-23 season, but it’s safe to say that the relationship was frayed and service of apparel was suboptimal.

• The primarily Cal men’s basketball uniforms were widely panned upon their release.

• Under Armour did a poor job of providing merchandising. It’s been nearly impossible for Cal fans to buy Under Armour Cal gear for years, likely impacting Cal’s merchandising revenue.

Although financial terms have not been disclosed, it’s likely that Cal’s deal with Nike won’t be advantageous as it was with Under Armour, and it’s likely we won’t get as many bells and whistles with regards to uniform types. But it’ll be nice to buy Cal Athletics stuff more regularly and support the program with merchandising purchases.

Cal fans, thoughts on being back with Nike?