March Madness has arrived and the men’s NCAA Division I basketball tournament bracket is set with the First Four games beginning on Tuesday and Wednesday. While college athletes will be competing on the hardwood, apparel brands will be competing for exposure and hoping the teams they sponsor make deep runs in the tournament.
Four athletic brands will have teams they sponsor participating in this year’s NCAA tournament: Nike, Jordan (which is a brand within Nike), Adidas and Under Armour. Of the 68 teams in this year’s tournament field, Nike sponsors 36 while another four wear Jordan, Adidas sponsors 18, and Under Armour 10.
Here’s a look at which apparel brands are sponsoring the teams that may make or break your bracket this year.
Purdue's Zach Edey scores over Penn State's Kebba Njie during the second half of an NCAA college basketball championship game at the Big Ten men's tournament, Sunday, March 12, 2023, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh / AP Newsroom)
Oregon-headquartered apparel giant Nike leads the way with 36 teams in this year’s NCAA tournament field with a number of perennial favorites. The lineup includes a pair of No. 1 seeds, the Alabama Crimson Tide and Purdue Boilermakers, and a trio of No. 2 seeds — the Arizona Wildcats, Marquette Golden Eagles and Texas Longhorns.
All four of the tournament’s No. 3 seeds — the Baylor Bears, Gonzaga Bulldogs, Kansas State Wildcats, and the Xavier Musketeers — are Nike-branded programs. They’re joined by three of the No. 4 seeds with the Tennessee Volunteers, UConn Huskies and Virginia Cavaliers in the ranks, plus the fifth-seeded Duke Blue Devils.
Nike’s dominance of the field extends to the middle- and lower-seeded teams looking to pull off upsets and make a deep tournament run, including:
Arizona forward Azuolas Tubelis (10) drives the ball against UCLA forward Kenneth Nwuba (14) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the championship of the Pac-12 tournament, Saturday, March 11, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chase Stevens / AP Newsroom)
Nike’s Jordan Brand, named after basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan who still retains a percentage stake in the brand, sponsors four teams in this year’s tournament:
Kansas forward Jalen Wilson (10) gets past West Virginia guard Erik Stevenson (10) to put up a shot during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the second round of the Big 12 Conference tournament Thursday, March 9, 2023, in Kansas C (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel / AP Newsroom)
This year’s tournament field will include 18 teams sponsored by Adidas, which has its global headquarters in Germany but has a North American headquarters in Oregon. The Adidas lineup in this year’s tournament is led by the No. 1 seed Kansas Jayhawks and No. 4 seed Indiana Hoosiers, and will also feature the No. 5 seed Miami Hurricanes and No. 7 seed Texas A&M Aggies.
The middle and lower seeds wearing Adidas in this year’s tournament include:
Saint Mary's guard Logan Johnson (0) drives the ball against Gonzaga guard Dominick Harris during the second half an NCAA college basketball game in the finals of the West Coast Conference men's tournament Tuesday, March 7, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker / AP Newsroom)
There will be 10 teams sponsored by Maryland-headquartered Under Armour in this year’s NCAA tournament led by the No. 5 seed Saint Mary’s Gaels, No. 7 seed Northwestern Wildcats and the No. 8 seed Maryland Terrapins.
Other Under Armour branded programs competing in this year’s tournament include: