Nike Basketball Shut Out of San Antonio

When Kansas edged out Davidson in the last of the four NCAA mens' regional finals yesterday, they didn't just lock up an All-#1 Seed Final Four. The Jayhawks victory over the upstart Wildcats also managed to secure the first Swoosh-free Final Four since the early '80s.

Nike, Inc. will be represented -- in the form of the Brand Jordan-sponsored Tar Heels. But there will be none of the iconic Nike trademark that has been the mainstay of Final Four games for more than twenty years; round-of-eight losses by Texas, Xavier, and the aforementioned Wildcats of Davidson secured that fate. Worse yet for The House That Phil Knight Built, the three schools playing in San Antonio besides Carolina will all be bearing the mark of their main rival, Adidas.

Of those schools, it has to be the three stripes on the Jayhawks unis that burn the worst for Nike, whose long-standing relationship with the University of Kansas culminated following last season. One year into their deal with Adidas, and the 'Hawks were National Championship contenders in football and find themselves headed back to the basketball promised land. Ouch.

While Nike, Inc. remains a dominating force in the basketball shoe market, owning a massive chunk of market share between the Nike, Jordan and Converse brands, the Final Four shut-out -- along with a potential MVP trophy for Adidas's main man Kevin Garnett -- can't be putting smiles on the faces of anyone at Nike. Could this be the beginning of a comeback for the German footwear powerhouse, who has long played the role of basketball sneaker underdog?

Before you count Nike out, it bears mentioning that they do still have a couple of guys in the pro ranks by the name of Kobe and LeBron to pin their hopes (and their billion-dollar trademark) on. Couple that with a high-profile relationship with USA Basketball and the record-low ratings for this year's tournament (if a logo falls and no one is there to see it, does it really fall?), and it's probably a bit early to start betting big against the behemoth in Beaverton.