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UPDATED: Under Armour Lacrosse Is Officially Making Moves

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Under Armour Lacrosse is really here!

UPDATE: Under Armour asked us to take down all the photos.  So we did.  For those that saw, them… you’re lucky!  For those that didn’t… I’m sure they’ll be back in no time!  The cat is out of the bag at this point.  At least UA got a good amount of buzz from it!

On April 6th, I wondered aloud on LAS, “Where Is Under Armour Lacrosse?” Well, it looks like my question has been answered!  Under Armour went lacrosse, then mainstream, and now back to lacrosse.

Under Armour is now producing shafts (one is called the Playmaker, it’s Scandium and can be seen on the LaxUNation Blog), padding, and heads, and this will compliment their current line up of apparel and footwear. Under Armour has been working with Gait, or former Gait employees, or one of the Gaits (we’re leaning towards the latter), as a partner, and although the details aren’t exactly public yet, it seems like the deal will be similar to what STX and Nike do in their working relationship. Some of the same manufacturing plants will be used by both, economies of scale will be leveraged, and design work will occur in a more collaborative sense than if the two companies were completely separate totally different and no one has released any details yet officially.  We’re working on it!

I’ve also seen a photo of the new Under Armour head and surprise, surprise, it resembles a Gait head just a little bit, but without all the gimmicky stuff Gait heads have come to be known for.  The sidewall is aggressive.  It also looks like an older revolution (Warrior) a little bit, but how different can you really make a new head look without going overboard?  I’m excited to get my hands on one though, as I’m sure there is a LOT I missed from the photo.  These will surely start to leak online over the coming days.

From what I’ve heard, the heads are for the most part, solid.  One may have a colored insert gimmick, but I want to see how that plays out before I judge it!  Rumor has it, UA may be unveiling TWO product lines, but that needs to be substantiated before it can be taken as fact.  Interesting idea though, and it would speak to UA really diving in head first.

But the big questions still don’t surround a company’s first year of gear production… they surround the future.

You can guess that Maryland will be all Under Armour all the time, and that could possibly happen as early as next year.  Maryland has been STX now for a while, but they are an UA school, through and through, so expect that move sooner rather than later.  Loyola is another top team that rocked UA uniforms this year, but they get their gear from Warrior/Brine.  I think this would actually be a bigger steal than Maryland, because UA already owns the Terps.  Stealing Loyola from Warrior would be a big move, and I’m sure it would require some serious money to oust the big boys of lax.

What I’m most curious about is Virginia.  They are a Gait school and have been for ages now.  But with this partnership, will more players start opting for the UA goods, much like Cuse and UNC players have opted for Nike over STX more and more?  I have always liked the Gait Torque as a head, but other than that I was never that impressed.  Seems like UVA could ripe for the conversion as well.

Under Armour has consistently done well with collegiate athletes.  Universities supply their students with UA gear, and the kids feel like pros all of a sudden.  This “professionalism” has definitely helped the brand along, so I would think they would keep their focus on the college ranks, while maybe working with a couple of high profile high school teams.  And with Viriginia, Maryland and Loyola as possible targets, Under Armour will get in bed with big boys right away.

So I guess the only question left to answer is, who the heck is Easton going to sponsor?  Or are they waiting for USC to add lacrosse first?