Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh told Athletic Director Jim Hackett on day two of his tenure that he wanted to go back to Nike from adidas Harbaugh said Tuesday, the day U-M unveiled its new Jordan Jumpman uniforms through the media.
Harbaugh’s son and Michigan’s tight ends coach, Jay Harbaugh, in fact planted the seed that Jumpman might be the way to go.
But Charles Woodson, a Jordan brand wearer himself when he played with the Raiders, got the ball rolling with a phone call to his Airness himself.
“I don’t know about speed dial, but I can get in touch with him,” Woodson said with a laugh. “I texted him, he texted me back. I called Jim. That was that. That was the Genesis.
“I don’t know if it’s flexing my muscle, but I had an idea. Before I took it to anybody, I took it to the man himself. I think that was the only way to do it. He gave me the blessing to bring it up. The rest is history.”
And the latest huge boost to the program, recognized by just about everyone but Daily Local’s Lee Hudnell, who predicted not long ago that the switch wouldn’t resonate with recruits or players.
Senior cornerback Jourdan Lewis said the reaction was such that he had players from other teams asking him for some of his gear. The demand has been so great that the MDen retailer servers were down for much of Aug. 1 with people trying to buy gear.
The Aug. 2 presentation itself was a spectacle, held at the Ford Piquette Plant in Detroit. Just a few feet away from Henry Ford’s original office in the building where the first Model T was built, CBS’ (and Michigan alum) Dana Jacobsen and Woodson were introduced in front of showcased uniforms and other gear.
It was a big deal to him, Woodson said … and judging by the reaction on social media, to just about everyone else.
“The big deal for me was seeing that Jumpman on the jersey,” Woodson said. “That was the big deal. I think it’s great for our university, great for our program, great for the players to be associated with Jordan and Jumpman. I’m just excited. To me, [Jumpman brand] has nothing to do with basketball. It’s all about Michael Jordan’s greatness before you look at the championships and the MVPs, what went into Michael -- what got him there. That to me is what the Jumpman is all about.
“Yeah, Michael Jordan is the best basketball player to ever live, and that opinion is shared by a lot of people, myself included. But how did he get there? It’s all about the work. How did this university get to where it is now? It didn’t just pop up here one day and all of a sudden it’s one of the greatest universities that we know. There’s a lot that went into it. To me that’s what the Jumpan is all about - that journey, that role to get to the point where somebody can revere you as being the greatest of all time.”
Harbaugh said Jordan told him he wanted to be to Michigan what Nike has been to Oregon. Step one was Tuesday, and Woodson wasn’t at all jealous that he came to the party 19 years after he played in maize and blue.
“Man, you see what I got on? Jordan shirt, Jordan pants. I’m going to be all right,” he said with a laugh. “But it’s been crazy. Looking on social media, all that stuff, the turnout they had at the MDen the other night, how many people lined up down street. You sense how big it is for Michigan to go back to Nike and Jumpman.
“We were gone away from them too long.”
