We’ve heard a lot about Tennessee’s future apparel and equipment partnership with Adidas since it was announced on Aug. 13, which is a deal that is set to begin on July 1, 2026, when the Vols’ current deal with Nike expires.
Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel has talked about the future benefits to the student athletes, wide receiver Mike Matthews spoke about being made a priority, and Tennessee itself has boasted about all the advantages that will come to the players and programs inside the athletics department.
But perhaps none were quite as candid as what Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello said about the deal while on the Josh and Swain radio program on Thursday. In typical Vitello fashion, he pulled back the curtain and gave an honest answer about why he believes the deal will not only be beneficial to the department as a whole, but also what makes Adidas an appealing partner for the players inside the baseball program and around the school.
During his appearance on the 99.1 The Sports Animal program, Vitello talked about getting the initial news from Tennessee Athletic Director Danny White.
“Well, it was, fortunate enough to be brought into the conversations,” Vitello said on the Josh and Swain show. “Because, any topic, you don’t want to feel like you’re on the outside looking in. And, you know, whether it’s the stadium, or that in particular. Danny called me over to the office, and the timing was unique, so I was like, ‘What’s this about?’ And that came out of left field.”
Vitello gave an honest assessment of the situation. He acknowledged that while Nike does hold some street credit with the young athletes of the modern world, Adidas offers something different that he feels like players will really be able to latch onto, which is the customization aspect.
“Because, you know, Nike does have a niche where to the kids, it’s one of the cool brands and things like that,” Vitello said. “But what’s cooler to the kids these days is customization. I talked about Liam Doyle, he doesn’t need attention. Most kids need attention. You want to feel like you’re a first-class citizen when you’re dealing with somebody, especially when they’re in charge of apparel and equipment. And, you also want the ability to customize things, because of NIL, because kids have their own quote-unquote brand. And when you see the scales tipping in favor of Adidas, it’s something that makes sense.”
“What’s cooler to the kids these days is customization.”
Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello explained on @JoshandSwain why UT’s new partnership with adidas makes sense for the Vols’ future. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/ePv38oP7Aj
— Josh Ward (@Josh_Ward) August 21, 2025
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With the emergence of social media and NIL rising up at the same time, there’s never been a stretch like today when student athletes can create an image for themselves on and off the playing surface. Whether it’s striking up deals with local and national companies, becoming social media influencers, or whatever else comes up, these players want to build their own brands while they’re playing at the collegiate level. That does add up to the attention aspect, as Vitello noted, but that’s also a place that Adidas is seemingly prioritizing.
Josh Heupel noted how Adidas wanted to make Tennessee its flagship school while speaking to the media last week during UT Football fall camp.
“We’re fortunate, had a partner that wanted to make us their flagship school,” Heupel said. “That’s going to happen in a lot of different ways and going to be a benefit to our football program. But this athletic department as a whole, too. Had an opportunity to come talk to some other guys and I think everybody’s really excited that, again, we’re going to be the flagship school for them and it’s going to provide a lot of unique opportunities for our players both on and off the field.”
Tennessee’s apparel and equipment partnership with Adidas will begin on July 1, 2026. It’ll be a new day for UT Athletics, but also a return to a previous form. Tennessee and Adidas were partners from 1995 to 2014, with UT winning multiple national championships, including football (1998) and women’s basketball (2007, 2008), during that stretch.
For more on Tennessee’s upcoming partnership with Adidas, check out UT’s official press release here.
