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Nike to sponsor Seminoles basketball teams abroad
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Florida State’s men’s and women’s basketball teams will play overseas this summer in trips financed in total by Nike as part of its contract with Florida State Athletics. The men’s team will head to Spain on August 11 for games stretching from August 13-22nd and the women’s team will depart for South Africa on August 10 for games from the 12th to the 19th.
“The overseas trips are excellent opportunities to develop both as a team and as an individual player,” said FSU head men’s coach Leonard Hamilton. “We get additional practice days and we will be competing against some semi-pro teams so you get to know a lot more about your players than you normally would. There is a pretty strong correlation between getting these international experiences and the development of your program down the road.”
As part of Florida State’s contract, the entire trip for both teams are funded by Nike which sponsors international tours for universities every four years.
“We consider this a great opportunity for our players education both as basketball players and as students,” said head women’s basketball coach Sue Semrau. “I know our players are excited and it will be a great opportunity to see parts of the world they might not ever get the chance to visit. We appreciate Nike selecting Florida State to take the trips this year.”
FSU’s men’s team advanced to the ACC Championship game for the first time in school history last season and played in the NCAA Tournament. The men will return three starters from last year’s 25-10 squad. The women’s team tied for first in the ACC regular season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth consecutive season after finishing with their most ACC wins (12) in school history.
“We are happy our teams are getting this opportunity to play internationally,” said Randy Spetman, Director of Athletics at Florida State. “The international basketball market is very important to Nike and they have a strong commitment to making it possible for partner schools to play overseas. It should be a great experience for our teams.”
