As the driven snow

I missed the news on this when it first came out…

Recent discussions surrounding the marketing and lucrative branding deals of college athletics have often focused on power conference schools such as the University of Maryland and the University of Wisconsin. Perhaps for the first time, however, an Ivy League institution can be added to the list of schools translating amateur athletics into major money.

Reportedly valued at $16.5 million over the course of 10 years starting July 1, the new deal is much larger than all previous or current deals at other Ivy League schools, according to Yale Intercollegiate Equipment Operations Lead Assistant Jeffrey Torre. Yale athletics administrators explained the magnitude of the deal by noting that it will go beyond providing the Bulldogs with apparel and equipment: Under Armour and Yale plan to build on each other’s strong market presence to further extend the reach of their own brands.

“If you sell both Notre Dame and Yale T-shirts in … other countries, I put our brand up against any other one,” Yale Associate Athletics Director Marketing and Licensing Patrick O’Neill said. “We will help [Under Armour] internationally.”

… but when you’ve got an Ivy League athletic director boasting about the school’s brand, the war is over, man.

It’s hard to argue with Sonny Vaccaro when he says, “The Ivy League has lost its virginity. What it shows me is there is no more amateurism. I would love to know where Jim Delany is going to go that’s pure.”