When it comes to equipment for the Colorado football team, it all comes through the hands of one man, Michael Smith. Affectionately known as “Smitty” this is the second time around at CU for the man overseeing the equipment room. He worked in a similar capacity before but left for a long stint at Nike.
He was reintroduced to the world upon his return to Colorado as the man who gave Deion Sanders his pair of Nikes to try on in fifteen years. Sanders was a signature athlete for Nike during his playing days before severing the relationship and becoming an ambassador for Under Armour.
“For us our role is to just take care of the student athletes and make sure they have everything they need from an equipment and an apparel standpoint to perform at the highest level and to be a resource for them as they go through this process,” Smith said.
A dream job
Smith considers his role at CU a dream job, which is a pretty strong statement for someone who is returning from Nike. The annual revenue for the global shoemaker in 2022 was a whopping 46.7 billion dollars. That’s a 4.8 percent increase from the previous year.
But working for the mega giant didn’t offer the opportunity to work side by side with one of the greatest football players of all time on a daily basis.
“We are lucky to be a part of what he’s going to do here. The expectation level has been raise around here a lot, that’s what we want, that’s what we kind of crave, so it’s special for us to play some small part in a sort of a turnaround around here.”
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