EPISD partners with Under Armour

El Paso Independent School District athletic students will soon take the field with new uniforms.

On Tuesday evening, the board voted to approve a contract with well-known apparel company Under Armour.

Officials say the deal is expected to save the district millions.

A few months ago, the Ysleta Independent School District partnered with Nike.

On Tuesday, the EPISD board voted to approve a contract that would make athletic clothing company Under Armour their supplier of choice.

“This is groudbreaking for EPISD,” said Trent Hatch, EPISD trustee, adding that the move is the first of it’s kind for the district.

“Under Armour is our official supplier for athletic gear for all of our athletic teams within our school district,” said Hatch.

Hatch tells ABC-7 that currently all schools and boosters go to individual vendors looking for the best opportunity to supply their teams. From now, “by bringing it under one umbrella, this allows us to have a lot of equity,” said Hatch.

The district gets a better deal by ordering in bulk.

“It doesn’t matter if you go to Jefferson or Austin or Irvin or Franklin, Coronado or Andress everybody is going to have the opportunity from the same vendor with the same discounts, with the same quality and product that Under Armour provides,” Hatch said.

The deal with Under Armour isn’t limited to just athletic clothing.

“If you have a student council group that needs to buy apparel and put their team or their group logo or what have you, they are going to have this access to buy this type of product,” Hatch said.

Hatch tells ABC-7 the deal goes beyond saving the district money.

“It’s a matter of having pride in our school (and) setting the tone. We want to look good, we want to feel good, we want our student athletes and everybody in our schools to know that they represent something great,” Hatch said.

Hatch says the $2 million contract starts immediately but it should take about a year for students to see the new threads.