Skip to main content

Asics and Waseda University Announce Partnership Aimed at College Sports Industry

https://www.wwdjapan.com/business/2016/03/03/00019811.html

translated by Brett Larner

Asics has formed a comprehensive partnership with Waseda University, a five-year agreement beginning March 2, 2016.  The three main objectives of the collaboration include research and development in sports products and sports medicine, sports-related human resources development and international exchange, and social contribution actions including volunteer activities and event organization.  The views and opinions of students on Waseda's 44 sports teams including its track and field and rugby programs will be incorporated in designing and developing the training gear and uniforms that they will actually use.

Asics CEO Motoi Oyama enthusiastically commented, "Although we have given partial support in the past, this is the first time that we have formed a partnership with a university as a whole.  Partnering with a school like Waseda University with high name recognition value and organization will not only increase brand value but, I am convinced, bring about new areas of future value.  Together with Waseda University we hope to help further develop Japanese university sports and to revolutionize the university sports industry.  Examining the situation of on-campus retail outlets, we may look at opening off-campus stores as well.  As just one university and one company it may be difficult to bring about a university sports industrial revolution, but I hope that we will be able to sow the seeds that lead to that happening."

In 2002 Waseda University signed a partnership agreement with Adidas Japan.  In October, 2014 Adidas opened a Waseda Sports Official Partner Shop on the Waseda campus selling Adidas products.  The shop closed in February this year.

Comments

Most-Read This Week

World Championships Medalist Racewalking Coach Mizuho Sakai Recognized With Highest Coaching Honor

The 2023 Mizuno Sports Mentor Awards recognizing excellence in coaching were held Apr. 23 in Tokyo. Toyo University assistant coach and race walking coach Mizuho Sakai was given a gold award, the program's highest honor, and expressed her thanks and joy in a speech at the award ceremony. The coach of 2023 Budapest World Championships men's 35 km race walk bronze medalist Masatora Kawano , Sakai said, "This is an incredible honor and I'm truly grateful. As a child I wanted to be in the sporting world and I've spent my life in that world. My end goal was always to play a supporting role for other athletes, so I'm honored to be recognized in this way." Sakai's husband Toshiyuki Sakai , head coach of Toyo's three-time Hakone Ekiden champion team, attended the awards gala with her and was also introduced to the audience. After bowing he took a seat in front of her and watched with warmth as she received recognition for her outstanding work. The Mizun

The Ivy League at the Izumo Ekiden in Review

Last week I was contacted by Will Geiken , who I'd met years ago when he was a part of the Ivy League Select Team at the Izumo Ekiden . He was looking for historical results from Izumo and lists of past team members, and I was able to put together a pretty much complete history, only missing the alternates from 1998 to 2010 and a little shaky on the reverse transliterations of some of the names from katakana back into the Western alphabet for the same years. Feel free to send corrections or additions to alternate lists. It's interesting to go back and see some names that went on to be familiar, to see the people who made an impact like Princeton's Paul Morrison , Cornell's Max King , Stanford's Brendan Gregg in one of the years the team opened up beyond the Ivy League, Cornell's Ben de Haan , Princeton's Matt McDonald , and Harvard's Hugo Milner last year, and some of the people who struggled with the format. 1998 Team: 15th of 21 overall, 2:14:10 (43

Hirabayashi Runs PB at Shanghai Half, WR Holder Nakata Dominates Fuji Five Lakes - Weekend Road Roundup

Returning to the roads after his 2:06:18 win at February's Osaka Marathon, Kiyoto Hirabayashi (Koku Gakuin University) took 5th at Sunday's Shanghai Half Marathon in a PB 1:01:23, just under a minute behind winner Roncer Kipkorir Konga (Kenya) who clocked a CR 1:00:29. After inexplicably running the equivalent of a sub-59 half marathon to win the Hakone Ekiden's Third Stage, Aoi Ota (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) was back to running performances consistent with his other PBs with a 1:02:30 for 8th. His AGU teammate Kyosuke Hiramatsu was 10th in 1:04:00. Women's winner Magdalena Shauri (Tanzania) also set a new CR in 1:09:57. Aoyama Gakuin runners took the top four spots in the men's half marathon at the Aomori Sakura Marathon , with Hakone alternate Kosei Shiraishi getting the win in 1:04:32 and B-team members Shunto Hamakawa and Kei Kitamura 2nd and 3rd in 1:04:45 and 1:04:48. Club runners took the other division titles, Hina Shinozaki winning the women's half