Penn State to switch from Nike to Adidas pending approval from Board of Trustees

According to On3’s Brett McMurphy, the Penn State Nittany Lions are close to making an apparel brand change. Spending over three decades with Nike, they will be switching to Adidas. The move is pending approval from the Board of Trustees.

“Penn State will switch from Nike to Adidas, pending approval from the school’s Board of Trustees, sources told On3,” McMurphy said. “Penn State’s been a Nike school since 1993.”

This will be the latest major program to move from checks to stripes. We recently saw the Tennessee Volunteers do something similar, signing a 10-year deal with Adidas back in mid-August. Adidas adding a prominent program from the SEC is now followed up by snagging one of the Big Ten’s most recognizable brands.

Penn State signing on with Nike in 1993 coincides with the Nittany Lions joining the Big Ten. A ton of success has followed, including four conference championships. Trips out to the Rose Bowl have taken place four times, two of which resulted in victories.

If the school’s Board of Trustees does wind up approving the deal, Adidas will be hoping Penn State can achieve similar accolades. Massive news in the apparel business just a week into the 2025 college football season.

More on Penn State one week into 2025 season

James Franklin has a big year ahead of him. Making the College Football Playoff semifinal was a great step but everyone in Happy Valley expects to go one or two further. National championship expectations are certainly on the Nittany Lions.

Week 1 provided a nice start. Penn State pulled off a routine win against Nevada, never really having a game on its hands. Much of the same can presumably be said over the next two weeks with FIU and Villanova coming to Beaver Stadium. The Nittany Lions will step onto the field as massive favorites.

From there, the challenges will begin. Nine Big Ten games rattle off the schedule, one of the biggest of which is at home. The Oregon Ducks travel to State College for the first time since 1964 and just second time ever. If there was ever an early-season litmus test for Franklin’s bunch, Dan Lanning will provide it.

Ohio State is always a game circled for Penn State as well. Nov. 1 is when one of the Big Ten’s most entertaining matchups of the year falls — one where PSU is looking to change the narrative.