OK, I know little about NCAA running, team dynamics, and school's sponsorship deals. From what I have gathered here on the Board, the shoe and uniform sponsor (nearly always Nike, but NAU is a notable exception) has a deal with the school but not with any athletes. Like, maybe the AD or some administrators signed something, but no student has and therefore they technically and legally have no obligations to any brand.
So, what would have happened if King Ches stepped up to the line gunning for his 15th title, and he has.... Mizuno on his feet! Phil yells at VP, VP yells at AD, AD yells at coach, coach yells at Ed. All that certainly would go down, but no one could really do anything about it, right?
So here we are. A Nike-loyal runner goes to adidas school. Now, saying this kid wears exclusively Nike or is Nike-loyal is true. It is also a huge understatement. There was a swoosh on each singlet and Brosnan's jacket. There was a thread about Beaverton sending a couple young stars there with shoes. Nike is so ingrained in NP culture that the brass may have thought of them like a farm team just like they think of U of Oregon. NAU runners over the last few years never considered wearing anything else.
Many of you will remember thread about Nico in which a pic of him with Nikes, sans-swoosh, in his hands was posted. He's walking off the track, in NAU garb, and the shoes had adidas-like stripes drawn on. The crowd here immediately identified them as Nike, and various posters commented to that effect. That went on for maybe a year, after which he switched to adidas. So what's this next kid going to do?
He's never worn anything else, and probably hasn't really been around other brands much (high school races rarely have a non-Nike in them) so what happens when he gets to Flagstaff? He has 3 choices:
Wear the Swoosh the whole time there, much to the disappointment of the coach and school in general. If this is the plan, I see him going somewhere else after a year, or at most 2, just due to peer pressure and heat from the AD and coach.
Wear Nike until the pairs he has now are worn out. At that point, the tempation of adidas freebies and pressure from within the school and team have him taking a few pair and switching. This was Nico's M.O. One year of not toeing the party line may not get you socially excommunicated.
Go with the flow. Show up with the Swoosh on foot day 1 (every incoming high schooler does, right?) and wear them just until the assistant coach or whoever deals with adidas gets your order in hand. After a week or so, you're on board with the 3 stripes.
Which route does he go?