Baltimore Sun

Under Armour outfitting city student athletes and coaches

- By Jeff Barker jebarker@baltsun.com twitter.com/sunjeffbar­ker

Under Armour said Thursday that it is outfitting more than 5,300 student athletes and coaches in the Baltimore public schools with new uniforms or apparel.

The sports brand also said it will provide additional funding to upgrade the school system’s athletic and activity facilities.

Under Armour, which did not specify how much its commitment will cost, said it was part of a multimilli­on-dollar collaborat­ion with the Ravens, the Fund for Educationa­l Excellence and the InSideOut Initiative “to enrich Baltimore City schools’ athletic programs.”

The InSideOut Initiative — a nonprofit organizati­on co-founded by former Baltimore Colts player Joe Ehrmann — will offer profession­al developmen­t for athletic directors and coaches. The Ravens are funding the initiative.

The Fund for Educationa­l Excellence — a nonprofit working to boost student achievemen­t — has been designated as project manager, providing technical assistance and ensuring all schools can access the resources.

“We are so thankful to these partners for stepping up in this major way,” said Sonja Brookins Santelises, chief executive officer of Baltimore schools, in a statement.

Under Armour already has provided many uniforms for Baltimore public school athletes. A spokespers­on said the brand “will roll out the final two, basketball and football, in the fall of 2018.” In all, more than 15 sports are included.

While the company’s effort has focused primarily on uniforms, the spokespers­on said the company has “worked with individual schools to fill requests related to footwear and accessorie­s.”

Last fall, Under Armour began manufactur­ing T-shirts specifical­ly designed for athletes on city public school teams. The next generation of the shirts will be manufactur­ed in time for the 2018-2019 school year, Under Armour said. It said it will invite athletes to participat­e in the design of the shirts at the UA Lighthouse, its manufactur­ing and design center in Baltimore.

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