Passion

Fixed the kicks sponsorships for each conference by removing the unknown status. Here’s the new chart showing the representation of Nike, Adidas, New Balance, and Reebok.

By now you know how many Big Dance teams are wearing what brand of kicks and you also know how the 2007 bracket looks with respect to sneaks. How do the conference shoe sponsorships look? Well, they look like this:

For comparison, take a look at the conference shoe sponsorships for March Madness 2006.

Although the games have begun, and it’s too late to change your picks, here is a look at this year’s brackets along with their respective shoe sponsorships.

And just remember that teams wearing Nikes have won 85% of the championships since 2000.

• 2000 Michigan State (Reebok)
• 2001 Duke (Nike)
• 2002 Maryland (Nike)
• 2003 Syracuse (Nike)
• 2004 UConn (Nike)
• 2005 North Carolina (Nike)
• 2006 Florida (Nike)

In 2006, the Final Four consisted of three Nike teams (George Mason, LSU, and Florida) and one Adidas squad in UCLA.

It’s time for the madness to begin, and like last year, I’ll be keeping an eye out on the kicks worn during the NCAA Tournament. Why check out the various kicks? Well, because in recent history, teams wearing Nike’s swoosh have been the champions 6 of the last 7 times. The kicks don’t lie!

So without further delay, I present the 2007 March Madness Kicks Analysis.

Shoe Sponsorship

Count of Sponsorship

Nike continues to dominate team sponsorships, upping their count to 44 teams this year compared to 42 teams in 2006. Adidas is a distant second with 15 sponsorships, followed by Reebok (Boston College and Niagara), and only Winthrop rocking New Balance. And1 failed to make a showing this year. I must admit that I missed two teams, Jackson State and Creighton, and can’t yet determine their sponsorships. After these teams play their first round games, there’ll be enough footage to correct these errors.