The new partnership, which became official in August, was in the works for a while, according to men's cross country and distance coach Barry Harwick. The deal will provide support not only for the team, but also for the Dartmouth Relays and the camp that the teams host over the summer.
"Nike was not particularly supportive of the team, so signing a contract with New Balance has been really supported in all three areas," he said.
The partnership made sense for the Big Green for a number of reasons. In addition to the company's Boston roots, it also has many connections to Dartmouth distance running. Women's cross country head coach Mark Coogan has been sponsored by New Balance as a professional runner for almost 20 years, and former Dartmouth distance runners Colin Ingram '04 and Harry Norton '08 both work for the company.
In addition to the corporate connections the Big Green has with New Balance, the recent success of Alexi Pappas '12 and Abbey D'Agostino '14 helped secure the contract. Pappas and D'Agostino were part of the team that won third place at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field National Championship in the distance medley relay. Individually, they advanced to the Olympic trials for the steeplechase and 5,000-meter runs, respectively. D'Agostino came within 0.19 seconds of qualifying for the London Games.
"I think [Pappas' and D'Agostino's] performance this past year was really, really helpful," Coogan said. "Without those two, it might not have happened."
Pappas' nomination for NCAA Woman of the Year and D'Agostino's selection as the Division I Female Scholar Athlete of the Year helped earn the partnership, according to Coogan
"New Balance wants to be associated with good programs and good schools," he said.
With the new sponsorship in place, New Balance has supported Big Green athletes in ways that Nike did not, such as providing shoes and other athletic apparel for athletes, according to Harwick.
"For us, it's just being able to have more unity as a team at competitions," D'Agostino said. "It'll help take up the level of seriousness on the team and send a message to other schools that we're here to compete and here for each other."
The new deal seems to indicate a long-lasting and friendly partnership between the team and the company, according to current and former runners. Since New Balance has sponsored him for years, Coogan has a lot of friends at the company, which he said has had a lengthy relationship with the Big Green, he said. The company has gone "above and beyond their requirements" to help out the school, according to D'Agostino.
"They're a really welcoming and friendly company," she said. "I got to meet some of the reps at the [Olympic] trials through Mark."
The sponsorship that New Balance will provide for the Dartmouth Relays, which is the biggest fundraising event for the teams, will help the company get its name out not only to college students, but also to high school students coming to compete at the meet.
"It's a perfect scenario for both us and the company," Coogan said.
The partnership will help the Big Green to recruit the top athletes, according to Coogan and Harwick. Many other top Division-I programs have had similar types of partnerships for years, allowing them to offer free apparel and shoes to athletes, benefits that Dartmouth did not have for many years. Now, when high school students attend the summer camp, they can receive New Balance apparel, and recruits can be promised free shoes, which may help sway them to pick the school.
"It already helped with recruiting," D'Agostino said. "I think it's now one of our bigger selling points as a team."
D'Agostino said that the partnership may also have an effect on the Big Green on the track. Not only does it give the team the benefit of free equipment and other apparel, but it could also give the team some added confidence.
"The degree to which other teams will be taking us seriously is going to be higher," she said. "We'll have to see whether or not it has a placebo effect on the team. Maybe if we look more legit, we'll feel more legit and perform better."
