Apparel companies have always been part of college sports. Now one of them is signing athletes by the dozen. Over Sept. 8 and 9, Alabama and LSU announced their latest groups of athletes in Nike's Blue Ribbon Elite program, an NIL initiative that lets athletes at partner schools sign deals directly with Nike.
What Blue Ribbon Elite is
According to On3, Nike launched the program in December 2025 with LSU, then added Texas in March 2026. Alabama is the latest partner. The concept is straightforward: a school's apparel relationship becomes a pipeline for individual NIL deals, so athletes can become Nike athletes, not just athletes who wear Nike.
Alabama's class
On Sept. 8, Nike signed 18 Alabama athletes, per On3:
- Football: 8, including quarterback Keelon Russell and wide receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams
- Softball: 3
- Men's basketball: 2
- Swimming, volleyball, gymnastics, soccer and baseball: 1 each
On3 reported the program's roster across partner schools reached roughly 95 athletes with the Alabama announcement. Alabama has partnered with Nike since 2001, so this builds on a long relationship.
LSU's group
A day later, LSU announced 40 athletes in the program. The breakdown, per On3:
- Football (11), baseball (8), softball (4)
- Track and field (3), gymnastics (3)
- Men's basketball (2), soccer (2), women's basketball (2)
- Men's golf, swimming, men's tennis, women's tennis and volleyball (1 each)
LSU football player Ty Benefield said becoming a Nike athlete was something he'd dreamed about since he was a kid.
Why it's notable
A few things stand out:
- It's not just football. Both classes include softball, gymnastics, volleyball and soccer. A national brand putting Olympic-sport and women's athletes alongside quarterbacks sends a message about where marketing value lives.
- Brand deals, not just gear. Schools already wear Nike. This program creates individual relationships between the brand and specific athletes.
- School identity stays front and center. These deals are tied to partner schools. The athlete's value and the program's brand are linked, which is how a lot of college fans think about players anyway.
What it means for fans
For fans, programs like this make athletes more visible. When a gymnast or a softball pitcher shows up in a national brand's content, more people find out who they are. That visibility tends to spill over: more followers, more interest and more fans looking for ways to engage with that athlete directly.
Apparel giants signing classes of college athletes would've been hard to imagine a few years ago. In 2026, it's another sign that individual athletes, across every sport, are becoming brands in their own right.