Kansas City Athletics announced Thursday that JE Dunn Construction has signed a multi-year deal to become the first jersey patch sponsor in the history of the UMKC Roos men's basketball program, putting a hometown builder's logo on Roos uniforms starting with the 2026–27 season.
The agreement marks the men's basketball program's first-ever jersey patch partnership, according to Kansas City Athletics, which reported the announcement's details; KCTV also covered it. Founded in 1924 and headquartered in Kansas City, JE Dunn is a family- and employee-owned company that ranks among the largest general building contractors in the country, per the athletic department's announcement.
The NCAA Division I Cabinet approved a change allowing member schools to place commercial logos on uniforms and apparel during non-championship competition, according to NCAA.org.
A Financial Push Tied to Revenue-Sharing
The rule change gives Division I programs another potential way to raise money through sponsorships. That opportunity has led athletic departments across the country, including mid-majors like UMKC, to treat jersey space as a fresh revenue stream.
National research from Front Office Sports published in July found that a majority of tracked college jersey patch agreements are valued in the low single millions. The available announcement does not state the financial terms of the JE Dunn agreement, although it describes the deal as multi-year. The announcement does not discuss whether the deal includes dedicated NIL money for UMKC basketball players.
Following a Summit League Trend
UMKC is not the first Summit League program to strike this kind of deal. Omaha Athletics became the first in the conference to secure a men's basketball jersey patch sponsor in June, signing a multi-year agreement with Nebraska-based MCL Construction that involved Learfield, setting a conference-level benchmark ahead of UMKC's announcement.
The trend has spread quickly across Midwest college athletics this year. The University of Kansas partnered with crypto firm Ripple in July, Kansas State signed with Purple Wave Auction in August, and Division II University of Central Missouri partnered with Shelter Insurance earlier this month, according to Front Office Sports.
A Bigger Commercial Strategy Downtown
The JE Dunn partnership fits into a broader push by Kansas City Athletics to build out commercial operations. In June, the department signed a four-year contract with revenue management firm Playfly Sports to handle ticket pricing, corporate sponsorships, and venue revenue optimization, with two dedicated on-campus staff members assigned to local corporate fulfillment.
That deal came ahead of the men's basketball team's return to historic Municipal Auditorium for home games next season.
Kansas City Athletics sponsors 14 Division I varsity sports and more than 250 student-athletes competing in the Summit League under its “Big Leap” strategic framework, which emphasizes competitive results, student-athlete experience, and regional community outreach. The announcement does not state a cumulative GPA or a Summit League academic honor-roll ranking. The announcement does not address whether the department plans to sell jersey patch rights for other varsity programs.
