An Evolving "Foot" Print - The Athletics Apparel & Equipment Team Dealer Evolution

Throughout all levels of intercollegiate athletics, having an all-school apparel deal is a common core tenet for athletics departments. In attempting to maximize resources, provide quality apparel and equipment for their student-athletes, and efficiently stretch and manage department and sports program budgets, the all-school deal is a common best practice.

There are numerous advantages to having an apparel team dealer to help service an athletics department’s relationship with their brand provider.  At the Autonomy Five level, each of those institutions deal directly with the brand and have a dedicated account representative for their department (a “direct” school).  Most institutions at the NCAA Division II, III, NAIA, and NJCAA levels deal directly with a team dealer.

Advantages of dealing directly with a team dealer include streamlined branding opportunities, ease of access for all teams and support staff in the selection, procurement, and fulfillment processes, along with best practices in utilizing negotiated discounts and promotional dollars to assist sport programs in stretching resources.

Just as intercollegiate athletics continues to evolve, the apparel and equipment team dealer industry does as well. National team dealers have relationships with all major brands from an apparel, footwear, equipment, and supplies standpoint. In addition to access, service, communication, and collaboration, your coaches, equipment staff, campus, and alumni can benefit from a high level of service. 

The thought leadership behind an effective team dealer model includes the ability to serve colleges locally, support them regionally, and complete the circle of service on a national level, if necessary. By incorporating purchasing power, operational efficiencies, and delivery mechanisms, they deliver both product and service at expedited levels. 

 “Your work culture shapes your overall experience and enjoyment. Companies that emphasize and reward grit have employees who develop this skill. It’s about working hard, learning, and improving. Resilience in the face of setbacks,” said Pat Weber, President and CEO of Game One, a national team dealer that evolved from a handful of regional dealers coming together as one national company in early 2021.

“At Game One, we believe in a strong sense of purpose and priorities. It starts from our core values: relentless, gritty, changemaker, teammate, and hungry. This means going above and beyond for our ADs, coaches, athletes, teammates, and vendors. And ultimately, our grit separates our success from everyone else. We are thrilled with our recent growth in serving colleges and universities across the nation. The schools we serve align solidly with who we are. We embrace the individual and innovative spirit on each campus to celebrate talented student-athletes and provide them championship resources.”

To borrow a military analogy, attention-to-detail in the SERVICE aspect of any college partnership is our force multiplier at Game One. A force multiplier is anything that amplifies your effort to produce more output.  Your successful coaches and administrators are force multipliers, as their recruiting acumen and commitment to student-athlete success allows them to impact more lives in one year than some do in a lifetime.  With an experienced and committed service team, an effective team dealer is proven to be relentless in their SERVICE force multiplier. 

As more institutions have either converted to the team dealer model, gone through a brand or service provider transition, or signed new team dealer contracts, the benefits have already begun to pay dividends for their departments. 

Key best practices to look for when selecting a team dealer for your brand include:

* Consistent communication from your account representative and regional sales manager

* Access to a Vice President and head of college partnerships (exclusive to Game One)

* Streamlined national inventory management system that maximizes timely delivery

* Online opportunities to work with your account representative on customized artwork

* Access to brand partners beyond apparel and footwear to maximize purchasing power

* Detailed calendars on booking windows to ensure timely delivery. 

A “concierge level of white-glove service” is what we promise at Game One. This means extra layers of service to improve efficiency across all logistical details of the ordering and fulfillment process. As part of that added layer of service, our reps can provide hands-on training (in-person, remote, or a combination) on how to maximize partner school agreements and increase threshold spends across the entire institution (still benefiting athletics without the added expense to athletics).

"After spending time getting to know the leadership team with our newly acquired team dealer and working through details, we felt assured that our account would be a priority. The infrastructure of the company and relational focus of the staff was apparent. We enter this new chapter with high confidence that they will provide great service to the size department that we have become," proclaimed Arabie Conner, former Director of Athletics at Ottawa (KS) University. "Additionally, this partnership allows us to continue our long-standing relationship with our brand partner, which was an important and significant factor." 

As an extension of both your equipment operations and athletics business office, team dealers should make the selection, ordering, purchasing, and delivery process a turnkey experience. Monthly inventory spreadsheets for your coaches and equipment staff are an added layer of efficiency and support.

With a nationwide footprint and regional inventory and fulfillment centers, the opportunities for products and services to customers from coast to coast. From bustling cities to remote rural areas, a team dealer’s reach can span far and wide, connecting communities and delivering value to your entire institution.

“We are thrilled to be an official partner with the Business of Small College Athletics,” Weber noted. “Having a father who played football at an NAIA institution (Tabor College) and myself who played basketball at the same level (Montana Tech) provides great pride in being a partner with BOSCA.”

For more information on Game One, please contact tim.mcmurray@game-one.com