Nike Team Nationals to Become Nike Cross Nationals in 2008

For the First Time in History, a Single Race--Nike Cross
Nationals--Will Crown Both Individual and Team National Champions for
High-School-Aged Runners
BEAVERTON, Ore.--(Business Wire)--
Nike (NYSE:NKE) today announced that its Nike Team Nationals (NTN)
team cross-country championship will expand this year to include
individuals, becoming Nike Cross Nationals (NXN). The Nike Team
Nationals event, which began in 2004, featured the 22 best teams of
each gender selected via a series of regional qualifying events. This
year, the top 22 teams will be joined by the 90 fastest individuals
from non-qualifying teams. Nike Cross Nationals is the only national
cross-country championship for both teams and individuals.

"Nike Cross Nationals is going to be the ultimate competition for
high school cross country," said Ken Dice, vice president of the Nike
USA Brand. "It's true cross country, and a true national championship.
We're inviting the best runners in the country, whether they compete
individually or as part of a team. Nike Cross Nationals is going to
take cross country to a whole new level of competition for these elite
athletes."

The teams and individuals competing in Nike Cross Nationals are
selected through a series of regional qualifying events. The nine
regions represented are: Heartland, Midwest, Northwest, Southwest,
South, Northeast, Southeast, California and New York. There are also
four at-large teams.

Two-time Olympian Dathan Ritzenhein said, "The opportunity to
compete both as one and as a team can't be understated. Until now,
there hasn't been one event, one day, to award the national individual
and team champions in the sport." Ritzenhein has been involved with
NTN since its inception, and has won individual cross country titles
in high school while competing with a nationally ranked team. He
added, "Everyone participating in Nike Cross Nationals will have the
experience of a lifetime. I'm a little jealous Nike Cross Nationals
didn't exist when I was that age--I would have loved to have run in
it."

In the regional qualifying events, slated to begin in November,
the two top teams and the top five individuals of each gender who are
not on a team will advance to Nike Cross Nationals. The championship
meet of Nike Cross Nationals will be held in Portland, Ore. on
Saturday, Dec. 6, 2008.

About Nike Cross Nationals

The Nike Cross Nationals is a part of the larger Nike Nationals
championship series which includes the Nike Outdoor Nationals and Nike
Indoor Nationals. The series of events was established in 2004 to help
strengthen the national circuit for cross country and track and field
competition. Following in the tradition of European cross country
meets, the event will again feature a multiple loop race course with
man-made obstacles built on the inside of the horse race track at
Portland Meadows in Oregon. Spectators can enjoy a continuous live
view of the race from the venue's enclosed 3,000-seat grandstand.
Again this year the Nike Cross National event is providing coaches
handheld computer devices, utilizing FinishLynx tracking technology
(created specifically for Nike Team Nationals, now Nike Cross
Nationals), to see team scores posted to a live leader board every
kilometer. The technology was first introduced in the races' inaugural
year and provides instant feedback on a teams' position in the race.
In addition to real-time race tracking, event data is then transferred
to live to www.nikecrossnationals.com following the completion of the
race so spectators, participants and coach can replay the race of
select teams and/or individuals exactly how it was run.

About Nike

NIKE, Inc., based near Beaverton, Oregon, is the world's leading
designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear,
apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and
fitness activities. Wholly owned Nike subsidiaries include Converse
Inc., which designs, markets and distributes athletic footwear,
apparel and accessories; Cole Haan Holdings Incorporated, which
designs, markets and distributes luxury shoes, handbags, accessories
and coats; Umbro Ltd., a leading United Kingdom-based global football
(soccer) brand; and Hurley International LLC, which designs, markets
and distributes action sports and youth lifestyle footwear, apparel
and accessories. For more information, visit www.nikebiz.com.

Nike
Media Relations, 212-367-4447

Copyright Business Wire 2008