Nike Transforms The Air Max 90 Into A College Football Cleat

Go Buckeyes.

Matt Varga 35 minutes

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We’re past the halfway point in both the fall semester and the college football season, but Nike’s campus homages are only heating up. The Nike Air Foamposite Pro has pledged the most serious shout-out to the blue bloods of America, while the Air Max 97 “Yardrunners” marked 2026’s entry into a series of HBCU pairs stretching through the past few years. Evidently, there’s more on the way for Swoosh x university fare, as two versions of the Nike Air Max 90 for Ohio State demonstrate.

The cleat variation is no doubt the more headline-grabbing, marking the first such performance hybrid for Tinker Hatfield’s iconic design. On Beaverton’s end, this continues a range of on-field interpretations of their streetwear staples, seen heavily with the Vaporposite push that’s already minted Saturday Gameday PEs and notable public releases like the “Mummy Duck” cleats. Further back, the Air Max 95 “Neon” lent much of its composition to a run of Mercurial soccer boots.

In this reformed life, the Air Max 90 holds onto its iconic mudguard and much of its upper design. To fit these for the Buckeyes, Nike leans on rich slitted suede and a menacing black/red colorway, given some extra edge by metallic silver patches on the Swoosh and Nike Air branding.

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Shortly after the cleat came to light, local Ohio retailer Sole Classics added their own photos of a lifestyle version of the Air Max 90 bearing the same Ohio State University themes. “Defend the Shoe” patches on the tongue and a heavy dose of team emblems on the heel and insoles help these mirror their performance counterparts.

The Nike Air Max 90 “Ohio State” is dropping on November 3rd at Sole Classics, retailing for $140. Further wide launch details for the lifestyle shoe or any for the football cleat are currently unclear.

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WHERE TO BUY

Mens Nike College Max 90 Vapor "Ohio State"

SKU: JF3429-600

RETAIL PRICE: $200

RELEASE DATE: 2026

US 2026

Retailer	Release type	Status
Nike SNKRS	Standard	Check Site

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Written by

Matt Varga, Junior Editor

Matt Varga is an Editor at SneakerNews. Initially earning a degree in Video Arts and Technology, he got his start in video editing and writing in the music world — primarily on hip-hop and electronic. A long-standing interest in sneakers led him to switching over to footwear. An avid collector, his favorite sneaker of all time comes down to either the Air Jordan 1 “Black Toe” and Air Jordan 5 “Laney,” his first ever pick-ups. When he’s not writing, you can find Matt cooking, traveling, attending concerts and when weather permits, on the handball court.