UNDER ARMOUR CONNECTION

THE UNDER ARMOUR CONNECTION

Kevin Plank, SJC Class of 1990 and MVP of the 1989 championship victory against DeMatha, is the founder, chairman, and CEO of Under Armour, the originator of performance apparel. Since the company began in 1996, Under Armour has been an industry leader. When company sold shares for the first time in November 2005, they posted the most successful initial public offering by an American company in five years, and the stock has continued to perform extraordinarily well. By 2013, the company was posting more than $2 billion in annual revenue. Under Armour is now an official supplier to Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, the National Football League, and just about every Division I-A college football program. Under Armour holds roughly 80 percent of the market share in the compression performance apparel market. In 2006, Plank was named the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year in the Retail and Consumer Products category. In 2012, Forbes magazine listed him as No. 3 on the list of the most powerful CEOs in America under the age of 40. Plank has also been inducted into the Baltimore Business Journal’s Hall of Fame.

Plank has stayed close to St. John’s athletic program and has given motivational pre-game, halftime and post-game speeches to the players. Under Armour is also the official apparel sponsor of the St. John’s athletic program. In 2005, St. John’s became one of just three high schools nationwide (SJC, Indiana, and Arizona) to wear Under Armour uniforms. Starting in 2006, the St. John’s varsity team began wearing Under Armour cleats as the official team shoe. In addition to the Under Armour uniforms and cleats, players at St. John’s wear Under Armour LooseGear microshorts, ColdGear mock turtlenecks, UA Tech T-shirts, receiver gloves, visors, performance socks, and more.