Ateneo Ends 7-year Sponsorship deal with Adidas
After a long 7 year partnership with Adidas, Team Ateneo has recently opted for a change in sponsorship, inking a deal with world leading supplier of athletic shoes and apparel, Nike. The switch from the classic Adidas three-stripes to the Nike swoosh was largely due to the strict limitations in the Adidas contract with regards to footwear. Adidas wanted all Ateneo athletes to sport Adidas apparel form head to toe; thus restricting athletes to wear footwear from other brands such as converse, Reebok, or Mizuno—used by the men’s and women’s volleyball team. While Adidas offers a wide array of footwear appropriate for each sport, some athletes prefer other brands due their added comfort and their sport-specific qualities. According to Emmanuel Fernandez, Assistant to the Director of the Ateneo University Athletics Office they are still waiting for the final draft of the contract. However officials says that the Nike package is much better, offering more flexibility, allowing athletes to wear any other brand they are comfortable with, so long as their uniforms were Nike.
No more events to be held in Ateneo
Starting season 73 of the UAAP, no more sporting events are to be held within the Ateneo Campus. For the past couple of years, UAAP sports such as Football, Judo and Fencing have all been held in the Ateneo fields—the Erenchun and Ocampo field—and the Blue Eagle Gym respectively. However, next season, for the convenience of the majority UAAP member schools, namely FEU, UST, DLSU, UE, NU, and Adamson, matches previously held in Ateneo will now be held within the University Belt area. UAAP officials have confirmed that next UAAP season, football will be held in the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex. This will not only be more convenient, but will enable the UAAP to use an official sized football field. There is no official venue for Judo and Fencing; however, there is a new policy that all indoor sports must be held in air-conditioned venues. Track and Field will also have a change in venue, as next year it will be held in Ultra instead of the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.
Ateneo finish 4th in overall UAAP standings
In this year’s UAAP General Championship race, team Ateneo finished fourth with 222 points—only seven points behind third place Far Eastern University (FEU). Team Ateneo improved on last season’s fifth place standing garnering 23 points more than last year. Championships in Men’s Basketball, Men’s Judo, and four silver place and six bronze place finishes among both men and women teams contributed greatly to Ateneo’s improved performance.
For the 12th straight year all-around performers University of Santo Thoms (UST) took the top of the podium, finishing at first with 307 points. DLSU came at far second with 254 points, followed by the FEU Tamaraws with 229 points. At the bottom of the Standings were the UP Maroons at fifth followed by the UE Red Warriors, Adamson Falcons and the NU Bulldogs at last place.
