Nov. 15, 2017
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State men’s basketball has partnered with Nike for a fourth consecutive year through its N7 program, and the team will wear turquoise Nike N7 uniforms during the Friday, Nov. 17, game against McNeese State to celebrate Native American Heritage Month. The color turquoise represents harmony, friendship and fellowship for many Native American communities.
It is the 10th year of Nike’s N7 program and, in addition to partnering with 10 collegiate basketball programs to celebrate Native American Heritage Month with N7 turquoise uniforms and other N7 apparel and footwear, each team will be given a new N7 EQUALITY tee to wear on the hardwood during pre-game warm-ups.
Along with SDSU, nine other schools are participating in the initiative to highlight Native American Heritage Month. The uniforms also complement the Nike N7 Spirit of Protection Collection, encouraging resilience against adversity and inspiring youth to “Dare to Rise” against obstacles. San Diego State will wear Nike Kyrie 3’s in an Aqua colorway for their on-court shoes.
With San Diego having the greatest consolidation of tribal nations than anywhere in the country, SDSU and Nike N7 are teaming up to leverage basketball as a way of showing how Native youth can lead physically active lifestyles to be a positive force of change for future generations.
The San Diego State-Nike N7 partnership represents the University's commitment to the education, health and wellness of indigenous communities. Through SDSU's partnership with Intertribal Sports, the school has been able to introduce Native American youth to the rich opportunities for learning and career development that exist on university campuses.
The San Diego State campus itself resides on Kumeyaay land and is the home to Viejas Arena, an American Indian Studies department and multiple research initiatives. The Educational Opportunity Program’s Elymash Yuuchaap (EY) Indigenous Scholars and Leaders program at SDSU, meanwhile, has created new opportunities for students to develop as leaders through the lens of their own identities.
About N7
N7 is Nike’s long-time commitment and mission to inspire and enable 2 million Native American and Aboriginal youth in North America to participate in sport and physical activity. The N7 philosophy embraces the Native philosophy: “In every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.”
The N7 collection considers the lasting impact our decisions have on the planet and embodies Nike’s commitment to sustainable innovation by creating product engineered for superior athletic performance and lower environmental impact.
After nearly a decade of partnership with Native American and Aboriginal communities across North America to support programs aimed at physically active lifestyles, Nike deepened its connections with these communities in 2007 with the launch of N7 beginning with the Nike Air Native N7 shoe. The N7 Collection followed in 2009 to celebrate Native American and Aboriginal culture and to raise awareness for the N7 Fund, which has contributed more than $4 million for Native American and Aboriginal youth sports programs.