The Nike Dunk High was released in August of 1985 as a High-Top basketball sneaker. Designed with similarities to the Nike “Air Force 1” & Nike “Air Jordan 1”. With basketball being very popular around this time (Because of Michael Jordan) the Nike Dunk High was an instant success. Nike’s first take at advertising this sneaker was called “Be True To Your School”. This is when Nike struck deals with schools such as University of Iowa, University of Kentucky, University of Michigan, Georgetown, St. John’s, UNLV and Syracuse to confirm the Dunk High as their teams official shoe. This is one of the main reasons why we have the colorways that we now know and love today.