It All Started With An Idea
In 1996, Kevin Plank, a former University of Maryland special teams captain, turned an idea born on the football field into a new industry that changed the way athletes dress forever. Back in his playing days, Plank hated having to change his sweat-soaked cotton T-shirts over and over again during two-a-days. Knowing that there simply had to be something better, he set out to create a solution.
Plank named his new company Under Armour, and after extensive research on the athletic benefits of synthetic fabrics, he designed the first Under Armour HeatGear® T-shirt.
Working from his grandmother's basement in Washington DC's Georgetown neighborhood, he traveled up and down the East Coast selling his revolutionary new product out of the trunk of his car. By the end of 1996, Plank made his first team sale, and Under Armour generated $17,000 in sales.
"The University of Maryland is a perfect match for the Under Armour brand with a rich heritage in performance and undeniable spirit to be the best."
- Kevin Plank
Protect This House
In 2002, to support its continued growth, the Brand moved its global headquarters to an old soap factory in the Tide Point section of south Baltimore located on the historic Inner Harbor.
With word of mouth growing every day, the Brand bet big again and launched its first-ever TV campaign. In 2003, the legendary Protect this House® TV commercial featured former University of Maryland football standout Eric "Big E" Ogbogu and a group of young athletes bringing the Brand's voice and overwhelming passion to life in a way no one had ever seen before. Protect This House became a rallying cry for athletes everywhere, it established the Brand as the authentic voice for the next generation, and it officially made Under Armour a household name.
In 2005, Under Armour signed an all-school deal with Plank's alma mater, the University of Maryland.
"The University of Maryland is a perfect match for the Under Armour brand with a rich heritage in performance and undeniable spirit to be the best," said Plank.
Click-Clack
In 2006, Under Armour set its sights on dressing the athlete from head to toe. A new campaign, Click-Clack® launched the brand into the footwear business through the introduction of its first line of football cleats . On the heels of this enormous success, the Brand expanded its cleat business to include baseball, softball and lacrosse footwear.
In 2008, after nearly 12 years of providing technically advanced performance accessories and apparel, and less than two years removed from its foray into cleated footwear, Under Armour revealed its highly anticipated line of performance trainers, marking its official entry into the athletic footwear market.
I Will
Seventeen years after inventing that first moisture-wicking T-shirt---and now a Brand that equips athletes with performance footwear, apparel, and accessories all over the globe---Under Armour innovation took center stage once again with the launch of all-new Armour39™, the first-ever performance monitoring system that measures what matters most to an athlete: your WILLpower™. This technology was tested through the partnership with Maryland athletics and its student-athletes and ended up being the first glimpse of Under Armour's thought leadership in the area of Connected Fitness.
THE UNDER ARMOUR STORY
Continuing The Connection
In September of 2014, Maryland and Under Armour announced a 10-year extension of their historic partnership, which included designating Under Armour as the official outfitter of Terrapin varsity intercollegiate athletics programs.
Under Armour will continue to design and supply the footwear, apparel, and equipment for training and game-day uniforms for the University of Maryland’s men’s and women’s varsity athletic teams..
“We are excited to continue our outstanding partnership with Under Armour as we usher in a new era of Maryland athletics in the Big Ten Conference,” said Kevin Anderson, University of Maryland Athletic Director. “Kevin Plank and his entire team have been strong supporters of our athletic programs and our student-athletes who proudly don the Under Armour brand. This decade-long agreement showcases Under Armour’s unwavering commitment to the University of Maryland and our fans.”
From the original Maryland Pride football uniforms worn in the 2011 Labor Day victory over Miami, which took over social media, to the Star Spangled uniforms the Terps wore vs. West Virginia in 2014 to pay homage to the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Baltimore at Fort McHenry and the writing of the Star Spangled Banner to the history-honoring Heritage Uniforms worn by the Terrapin men’s basketball squad, Maryland and Under Armour continue to turn heads each season with bold, Maryland-inspired uniforms designed for each of the University’s 20 athletic teams.
Plank’s commitment to Maryland was never more evident than when he made a substantial gift in the fall of 2014 to support the new Cole Field House, which includes the Terrapin Performance Center, the Center for Sports Medicine, Health and Human Performance and the future home of the Academy of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
“This project brings together two of my favorite passions, Maryland athletics and entrepreneurship,” said Plank. “The lessons I learned on the football field in College Park continue to fuel my entrepreneurial spirit and shape my professional approach. By fostering a generation of entrepreneurial-minded young adults, we are preparing our students not just for the next four years, but for many years to come.”
“We are excited to continue our outstanding partnership with Under Armour as we usher in a new era of Maryland athletics in the Big Ten Conference. Kevin Plank and his entire team have been strong supporters of our athletic programs and our student-athletes who proudly don the Under Armour brand. This decade-long agreement showcases Under Armour’s unwavering commitment to the University of Maryland and our fans.”
- Kevin Anderson