Earth Shattering News

The NCAA today announced that the Official ball for tournament play starting in 2009 is now a ball made by Wilson.

Press release

This will no doubt alter the face of soccer forever.

Um, anybody recall who the last ball sponsor was?

I think it might have been Brine.... Haha if Brine and Wilson are winning the bids for sponsorship, methinks the big companies didn't even make offers...

It was a Brine. I thought they made lacrosse stuff too.

First the NHL is outfitted by Reebok, and now this. The end times are coming...

Well I guess you can't really expect Nike or adidas to really want to this sponsorship... They do provide the balls for every major league in Europe, not to mention the World Cup and Olympics....

And it's not like being the official ball of the NCAA really sells that many balls for soccer...

Huh. Yeah, Adidas sponsors the MLS balls. As long as it's a high quality leather ball that's fun to play with; it doesn't matter too much. I alway kind of liked the Umbro balls myself...

Anything is better than the rubber black and white speckled ball that kids play with on the pavement at the Catholic schools.

athleticjames wrote:
Anything is better than the rubber black and white speckled ball that kids play with on the pavement at the Catholic schools.

I think I got sent to the principals office 3-4 times for kicking the ball "too hard" and nailing kids in the head back in the day... Oh the memories of the soccer cage growing up...

Check out the WPS official ball at http://www.womensprosoccer.com/. It's a Puma.

The only soccer ball I ever played with was the black and white rubber one on the schoolyard as a kid, only I was throwing it during dodge ball.

Interesting... I remember hearing the WPS approached adidas and Nike to be the official outfitter supplier/outfitter, but neither saw it as a sound venture... I'm glad they at least went with an established soccer brand instead of Under Armour...

This is what we can expect I guess. If you are on a desert island and really really need a friend. Wilson is there.

As long as they hold air, and don't get waterlogged, a ball is a ball (but the high end soccer balls from Nike and Adidas are noticeably better from personal experience).... As long as the ball doesn't perform like the following it will be OK....