North Carolina has reached out to Michigan, Cal and Marquette after the former suspended 13 football players for selling school-issued Retro Jordan 3s, according to an ESPN report. UNC reached out to the schools when, during its investigation into its own players, it found a retailer who may have also bought shoes from Wolverines, Golden Bears and Golden Eagles players.
Officials from each of the schools confirmed with ESPN that UNC had reached out to them, and that they are performing their own investigations.
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According to an ESPN-requested report from StockX — described as a "stock market for sneakers" — 23 pairs of Michigan shoes have been exchanged on the resale market, averaging $4,671 a pair. Michigan spokesman Dave Ablauf told ESPN the shoes didn't necessarily have to come from players: The university also gifts shoes to celebrities, executives and, sometimes, charities.
He added that the school also has players sign a form acknowledging sale of shoes could jeopardize their eligibility. The shoes are also personalized with the players' respective numbers, making anonymity much harder to achieve.
Marquette spokesman Mike Broeker told ESPN the school will now make players wear the shoes multiple times in order to decrease market value, while also stitching players' numbers into their respective shoes.
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Only four college football teams are sponsored by the Jordan brand: Michigan in 2015 became the first college football team to sport the "Jumpman" logo, followed by North Carolina in 2017. Oklahoma and Florida joined the brand in November and December, respectively, and will wear the Jordan logo for the first time in 2018.
Six college basketball teams are sponsored by Jordan: North Carolina, Michigan, Marquette, Georgetown, Oklahoma and Florida.
Cal is sponsored by Under Armour.
