Jeremy Lin 'lines up' Nike deal with Harvard

Houston Rockets point guard Jeremy Lin and his alma mater, Harvard University, are in talks to create a co-licensed merchandise line, two people with direct knowledge of the negotiations said.

The line would be created with Nike, which Lin endorses and which outfits the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based university's football and basketball teams, said the people, who were granted anonymity because the contracts aren't signed.

Lin, 24, the first Taiwanese- or Chinese-American to play in the National Basketball Association, became a global sensation last season after taking over as the starting point guard for the New York Knicks. He moved to the Rockets during the offseason on a three-year, US$25 million free-agent contract that the Knicks chose not to match.

A Lin-related line would be an economic and brand-building boon to Harvard where, according to the school's 2010-11 Fact Book, almost 18 per cent of the 6,657 undergraduates are of Asian descent, said Paul Swangard, managing director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Centre at the University of Oregon.

"Jeremy Lin provides an incredible platform for Harvard in China," Swangard said. "To millions of Chinese children, the NBA and Harvard are separately 'aspirational brands' and Lin is uniquely positioned to align their messages. I predict Lin will become one of the most effective brand-building tools for Harvard in China."

Harvard spokesman Kevin Galvin declined to comment on any prospective association with Lin. Nike spokesman Brian Strong wouldn't comment and Lin's lawyer, Pamela Deese, a partner at the Washington law firm Arent Fox, declined to comment.