The St. John’s Red Storm is switching sides in college basketball’s brand wars, and it’s a big win for Adidas.
The Red Storm announced this week that they’re leaving Nike after six years to team up with the German brand, starting July 16, 2025. This move shows how competitive the shoe and brand game has become in college athletics.
Nike Loses Another Top Program to Adidas in Competitive College Basketball Brand Market
The timing couldn’t be better for Adidas. St. John’s just completed their best season in decades under Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino, winning both the Big East regular season and tournament championships, earning a No. 2 seed in March Madness, and finishing with a 31-5 record before falling to Arkansas in the second round.
CBS Sports even ranked them preseason No. 1 for the 2025-26 season, marking a stunning transformation for a program that hadn’t won a Big East title since 1992.
Pitino’s impact has been immediate and dramatic. In just his second season, he guided the Red Storm to 27 regular-season wins, their highest national ranking (No. 7) since 1991, and became the first coach ever to win conference titles at five different schools. The 72-year-old also made history by becoming the first coach to lead six different schools to the NCAA Tournament.
Sports analyst Adam Zagoria put this switch into perspective, tweeting, “Last season, St. John’s was among 41 Nike schools in the 68-team NCAA Tournament. Adidas had 12, up from 10 the year before, headlined by Kansas and Louisville”.
Last season, St. John’s was among 41 Nike schools in the 68-team NCAA Tournament.
Adidas had 12, up from 10 the year before, headlined by Kansas and Louisville. https://t.co/MxlRDdD5g0
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) June 25, 2025
This isn’t just about shoes — it’s about Nike slowly losing ground in the college basketball market. While they still dominate with approximately 36-41 tournament teams in recent years, that number has faced pressure from competitors.
Meanwhile, Adidas keeps gaining momentum, growing its tournament representation and targeting high-profile programs with successful coaches and strong recruiting pipelines.
Championship Success Fuels Recruiting and Partnership Appeal
The Red Storm also built one of the nation’s top transfer portal classes for 2025-26, bringing in stars like Ian Jackson from North Carolina, Joson Sanon from Arizona State, Bryce Hopkins from Providence, and Dillon Mitchell from Cincinnati.
According to 247Sports, this haul gives St. John’s the sport’s best transfer class, demonstrating how championship success translates into recruiting momentum that apparel companies want to align with.
Having a successful program makes St. John’s an attractive partner for Adidas as they try to compete with Nike’s dominance in college basketball. The Red Storm’s recent achievements, including their first outright Big East regular season title since 1985 and tournament championship since 2000, provide exactly the kind of high-profile success and national exposure that apparel companies covet.
There is a history between Pitino and Adidas, too. Pitino was on the coaching staff at Louisville from 2001 to 2017, where Adidas partnered with the Cardinals for years. Things became complicated when both Pitino and Louisville were entangled in the 2019 FBI probe of college basketball bribery.
The FBI accused Adidas of providing money to players who committed to Louisville, which ultimately impacted Pitino’s career and led to his departure from the program.
Despite past controversies, Pitino has moved beyond any animosity toward Adidas. In 2019, he told reporters, “I don’t hold any animosity toward the company. In the grand scheme of things, what Adidas did was extremely hurtful and harmful to my career, doing that behind my back. But you don’t hold the entire company responsible.”
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St. John’s has changed its apparel partnerships frequently throughout its history. The program was with Nike before 2013, then switched to Under Armour for six years, returned to Nike in 2019, and is now reportedly making another change to Adidas.
This frequent turnover in the college basketball market clearly shows that schools are leveraging their success and visibility to secure the most lucrative deals possible.
Nike’s decision to potentially part ways with St. John’s would represent another example of the competitive pressures facing the industry leader in college basketball. Schools are increasingly willing to switch brands for better financial terms, enhanced support, and expanded marketing opportunities, particularly when they achieve the kind of breakthrough success that St. John’s has experienced under Pitino.
Sneaker wars in college basketball are becoming more fierce, with rising programs like St. John’s exploring new partnerships and intensifying competition among major brands.
The battle for market share has never been more intense, as apparel companies recognize that successful programs provide invaluable exposure during March Madness and throughout the college basketball season.
The switch also reflects how important visibility and timing are in these deals. St. John’s is playing at its highest level in decades, and that national spotlight makes the program valuable to Adidas as it continues trying to chip away at Nike’s market share in college sports.
With Pitino’s proven track record and the program’s momentum heading into the 2025-26 season, this partnership could provide both parties with significant benefits if the deal materializes as reported.