Nike has been a mainstay in college sports locker rooms for decades, and currently outfits more than half of Division I FBS football programs. This back-to-school season, the retailer made clear that another on-campus group is also top of mind: sororities.
Throughout August, Nike sponsored rush events for at least six sororities at colleges across the country, including South Carolina, Texas, and Arizona State.
Nike supplied some of its latest training, running, and streetwear products to sisters, who donned the gear in videos posted to their personal and sorority-wide social media channels—often to the tune of millions of views. Giant Nike-branded banners featured prominently in the background of most videos, usually unfurled over the stone columns of the chapters’ Greek Revival houses.
Although the company has seeded product on campuses before, it’s the first time that the brand has formally engaged with sororities, Emily Johnson, Nike’s college business director, tells Front Office Sports. She says the company refers to sorority members—along with other engaged, active college students—as “campus athletes.”
“We know now more than ever that students are looking to their peers for inspiration,” Johnson says, adding that “18- to 22-year-old females are powerful cultural forces on college campuses.”
