Kansas, Oklahoma State add jersey patches

Kansas and Oklahoma State have moved early into the new college jersey-patch market, using two different kinds of sponsors to sell the same piece of inventory. Kansas Athletics said on July 8 that Ripple will place an XRP patch on all Jayhawks team uniforms under a multi-year agreement. Oklahoma State said on June 23 that all Cowboys and Cowgirls teams will wear an Osage Nation patch beginning with the 2026-27 competition season. The deals come ahead of an NCAA rule change scheduled to take effect Aug. 1 that allows additional commercial logos on Division I uniforms. ### Why are Kansas and Oklahoma State in the same conversation? Kansas and Oklahoma State are among the first schools in the Big 12 to publicly define what a department-wide jersey patch can look like. Oklahoma State called its Osage Nation arrangement a landmark collaboration and said the patch will appear across all athletic teams starting this fall. Sports Illustrated and On3 described Oklahoma State as the first Big 12 school to announce a jersey-patch deal. (kuathletics.com) Kansas took a different route on July 8, pairing its entire athletics department with Ripple and putting XRP branding on all team uniforms. Kansas and Learfield said the agreement also includes venue branding, digital properties and event signage, making the patch part of a broader sponsorship package rather than a uniform-only sale. (okstate.com) ### What exactly did Kansas sell to Ripple? Kansas said the agreement gives Ripple an XRP jersey patch on all team uniforms and adds branding across athletics venues, digital channels and event signage. The school said Ripple will also fund financial and technology education programs for student-athletes and the campus community, including content on traditional finance and digital assets. (kuathletics.com) Travis Goff, Kansas athletic director, said in the school’s release that “this era of college athletics demands innovative, forward-thinking partnerships.” Learfield said Jayhawk Sports Properties, its Kansas arm, handled the arrangement as the school’s exclusive multimedia rights holder. (kuathletics.com) ### Why is the Kansas deal unusual? Kansas said the partnership marks “the first time a cryptocurrency will be integrated into the jersey of a major college athletics program.” That gives Ripple a category first at a moment when college programs are opening new sponsorship inventory under revised uniform rules. (kuathletics.com) Lance Leipold, Kansas football’s coach, linked the deal to Ripple Chief Executive Brad Garlinghouse, calling him a “proud Jayhawk” in the school’s release. Local and syndicated coverage identified Garlinghouse as a Kansas alumnus and Topeka native, giving the partnership an alumni tie as well as a sponsorship rationale. (kuathletics.com) ### What is Oklahoma State’s pitch with the Osage Nation? Oklahoma State framed the Osage Nation patch as an extension of an existing relationship rather than a new category entry. The school said the partnership builds on prior work tied to OSU-Tulsa and the Osage Casino Hotel Student Union in North Hall, which opened in 2020. (learfield.com) Kimberly Pearson, chief executive of Osage Casinos and Hotels, said in Oklahoma State’s release that the patch is “about visibility, opportunity and continuing to invest in the future of our people and our communities.” Athletic director Chad Weiberg said OSU athletes would represent both the university and the Osage Nation in competitions around the country. (okstate.com) ### What changed in the NCAA rulebook? The NCAA Division I Council’s cabinet approved a proposal in January allowing schools to add commercial logos or patches to uniforms, equipment and apparel, according to Deseret News. The rule is scheduled to take effect Aug. 1, just before the 2026 football season. (okstate.com) The policy allows up to two additional commercial logos on uniforms and apparel during the preseason and regular season, with each patch limited to 4 square inches, Deseret reported. The cabinet also supported exploring how commercial patches could work during NCAA championships with NCAA corporate marketing and media-rights partners. (deseret.com) ### What happens next for these patches? Aug. 1 is the next key date because that is when the NCAA’s new commercial-logo policy is scheduled to take effect for Division I schools. Oklahoma State said its Osage Nation patch will begin with the 2026-27 competition season, and Kansas said Ripple’s XRP patch will be featured on all team uniforms under the new multi-year agreement. (okstate.com) (deseret.com)