March Madness has arrived, and the NCAA Men's Division I basketball tournament is set to begin this week with the First Four games on Tuesday and Wednesday ahead of the Round of 64 games on Thursday and Friday.
While college athletes will be competing on the hardwood, apparel brands that sponsor their teams are competing for exposure and hoping the teams they are backing make deep runs in the tournament.
Four athletic brands will have teams they sponsor in this year's NCAA tournament field: Nike, Jordan (which is a brand within Nike), Adidas and Under Armour. Of the 68 teams in the 2024 tournament field, Nike sponsors 36 while another six wear Jordan, with Under Armour 16 and Adidas sponsoring 10.
Here is a look at which apparel brands are sponsoring the teams that will determine whether your bracket is busted this year.
The defending champion UConn Huskies are the No. 1 overall seed in the 2024 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Oregon-headquartered Nike leads the way with 36 teams in this year's field, including several favorites. The lineup includes a pair of No. 1 seeds: the defending NCAA champion UConn Huskies, as well as the Purdue Boilermakers, who are led by reigning national player of the year Zach Edey. It also features a trio of No. 2 seeds – the Arizona Wildcats, Iowa State Cyclones and Tennessee Volunteers.
All four of the No. 3 seeds are also Nike programs, including the Kentucky Wildcats, Baylor Bears, Illinois Fighting Illini and the Creighton Bluejays. They are joined by a pair of No. 4 seeds, the Duke Blue Devils and Alabama Crimson Tide, plus the No. 5 seed Gonzaga Bulldogs and No. 6 seeds BYU Cougars and Clemson Tigers.
Nike's dominance extends to the middle- and lower-seeded teams looking to pull off upsets and make deep tournament runs, including:
Zach Edey, #15 of the Purdue Boilermakers, dribbles the ball against Steven Crowl, #22 of the Wisconsin Badgers, in the second half at Target Center in the Semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament on March 16, 2024 in Minneapolis. The Badgers defeated the Boilermakers 76-75 in overtime. | Getty Images
Nike's Jordan Brand – named after basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan who still retains a percentage stake in the brand – sponsors six teams in this year's tournament. That list features three of the top eight seeds in the field, including Jordan's alma mater North Carolina.
North Carolina Tar Heels forward Armando Bacot, #5, dunks the ball in action against the Pittsburgh Panthers in the first game of the ACC Tournament Semi Final on March 15, 2024 at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. | Getty Images
Maryland-headquartered Under Armour will sponsor 16 teams in this year's tournament, led by the No. 4 seed Auburn Tigers, who won the SEC tournament championship.
Also featuring prominently in Under Armour's lineup are the No. 5 seed Saint Mary's Gaels, who won the WCC's regular season and tournament championships, and the No. 5 seed Wisconsin Badgers. Other Under Armour branded programs competing in this year's tournament include:
Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl celebrates with Johni Broome, #4, during the win against the Florida Gators in the championship game of the SEC Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena on March 17, 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee. | Getty Images
Ten teams in this year's tournament field are sponsored by apparel giant Adidas, which has its global headquarters in Germany and a North American headquarters in Oregon. Adidas' lineup is led by the No. 4 seed Kansas Jayhawks and includes the following brands.
Keisei Tominaga, #30 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, shoots over Zach Edey, #15 of the Purdue Boilermakers, in the first half at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Jan. 9, 2024, in Lincoln, Nebraska. | Getty Images