Looks like every college under contract with Nike has been let out of its commitment to use Nike baseball bats during the upcoming season. This is due to tremendous backlash from college teams that used Nike BBCOR bats last season. These teams showed signs of substandard offensive performance when compared to teams using non-Nike bats. The Tuscaloosa (AL) News broke the story, this is their article that was released on September 13, 2011:
TUSCALOOSA | The University of Alabama, along with every college under contract with Nike, has been released from its obligation to use Nike baseball bats in the upcoming season.
Alabama requested that Nike allow the school to use other manufacturers’ bats following the 2010-11 season.
The move came after a Tuscaloosa News report in May revealed a striking difference in the performance of Nike bats as compared to other manufacturers.
A search of the Nike Store online Monday showed that the company no longer sells bats certified for college use on its website. Nike released a statement Tuesday stating that it is still committed to selling bats and that the company continues to believe in the technology used in their production.
While using the Nike bats last year, Alabama hit just 23 home runs, down from an average of 86.6 over the previous three seasons.
The effects, though, were not specific to The Capstone. Of the top 20 team leaders in home runs this past season, none used Nike bats. Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Miami, North Carolina and Southern Cal – all Nike schools – showed signs of substandard offensive performance. Prior to the 2010-11 season, Miami had not missed the postseason this millennium, reaching the College World Series five times. The Hurricanes blasted an average of more than 93 home runs a season from 2008-2010. This past year Miami hit just 33.
The power numbers of all six schools known to swing Nike bats in 2010-11 were well behind the national average. Home runs were 20 percent lower and slugging percentages 44 percent lower than the NCAA as a whole.
Alabama head coach Mitch Gaspard said his team will use fall practice to test out bats from other manufacturers. So far, players have swung everything short of an Easton bat, which will arrive this week.
“We’re still in the evaluation stage,” Gaspard said of the process. “We’ll narrow down our choices in the next three weeks and talk to our players about what they like.
“Right now they’re kind of like kids in a candy store checking everything out.”
Under the revised agreement with Nike, Alabama can use other bats so long as it does not sign a contract or sponsorship with another manufacturer. By not being locked into a contract with a specific manufacturer, UA has the flexibility to use a number of different bats simultaneously and change at any point in the season.
“Nike is allowing partner schools and athletes the freedom of choice in baseball bats for the 2011-2012 school year,” Nike said in a statement released Tuesday. “We believe in our technology and look forward to seeing it continue to perform on the field of play.”
Gaspard said the university will continue to use all other Nike apparel and field equipment
You can see all the 2012 models by going to this page.
