Bowerman, a legendary University of Oregon track and field coach, partnered with Oregon student and runner Phil Knight to form Blue Ribbon Sports in January 1964. The company distributed running shoes for Onitsuka Tiger, the Japanese company now known as Asics. But as Bowerman and Knight continued to work in the shoe space, they decided they wanted to craft their own designs instead of sending ideas to Japan and formed their own company in 1971. That company was named Nike.

The Nike Cortez and the Waffle Runner were the company's first running styles, featuring new technologies that focused on outsole grip. However, Nike wasn't just about running. The first shoe to actually hold the famed Swoosh logo was a soccer cleat dubbed The Nike. Within the first few years, Nike was creating basketball and tennis shoes. Throughout the 1970s, Nike expanded ferociously into a host of major sports. Within a decade, Nike had half of the market share in the United States athletic shoes category, setting the company on a continual rise in the 1980s into additional sports and global markets.

As Nike expanded its reach, it added more technology. Nike patented "Air" technology for its cushioning system, first debuting in the Tailwind running shoe in 1979 before moving into additional sports, including basketball and tennis. The signing of Michael Jordan in 1984 led to the Air Jordan series and, eventually, an entire Jordan Brand company based around the superstar.

Nike continued to grow, reaching virtually every sport. Nike kept a strong presence in global soccer, became the official uniform supplier of the NBA, NFL and MLB and the leading sponsor of tennis players worldwide, all while staying focused on running and athletic performance.