Finish Line Stores to Exclusively Offer “Sports Illustrated Presents: Enduring Sportsmen”

INDIANAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Finish Line, Inc. (NASDAQ: FINL), a leading national retailer of athletic shoes, apparel and accessories, announced today that it will exclusively offer the “Sports Illustrated Presents: Enduring Sportsmen” collectors issue free to customers who make a $75 purchase at all Finish Line stores starting December 1, while supplies last. Also, customers who order online from December 15-20 will be able to utilize the in-store option on finishline.com to pick up their copy of “Enduring Sportsmen” at their local Finish Line store.

“It is an honor for us to celebrate the great athletes who have made this award so prestigious by their fine examples of sportsmanship. We look forward to seeing the next chapter of this great story written when the 2012 Sportsman of the Year is announced next week.”

“Enduring Sportsmen,” which has a retail value of $19.99, is a 68-page collectible edition of Sports Illustrated with seven in-depth profiles on luminaries from the sporting world. It comes in a customized keepsake gift box and is available exclusively to Finish Line customers. “Enduring Sportsmen” is being published in association with the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year event which takes place December 5 in New York City and will be featured in the December 10 issue of Sports Illustrated.

“We are thrilled to offer ‘Enduring Sportsmen’ exclusively at Finish Line and excited by our great partnership with Sports Illustrated that encompasses the entire Sportsman of the Year franchise,” said Steven Schreibman, senior vice president, chief marketing officer for Finish Line. “It is an honor for us to celebrate the great athletes who have made this award so prestigious by their fine examples of sportsmanship. We look forward to seeing the next chapter of this great story written when the 2012 Sportsman of the Year is announced next week.”

“Enduring Sportsmen” features seven in-depth profiles on famous sporting figures who have previously been named Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year, including football’s Joe Montana, basketball’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, baseball’s Derek Jeter, hockey’s Wayne Gretzky, swimming’s Michael Phelps, tennis’s Arthur Ashe and soccer’s 1999 U.S. Women’s team. “Enduring Sportsmen” is written by some of Sports Illustrated’s most noted writers, including Kostya Kennedy, Gary Smith, Leigh Montville, Alan Shipnuck, Michael Bamberger, Kenny Moore, E.M. Swift and Tom Verducci.

About Finish Line

The Finish Line, Inc. is a premium retailer of athletic shoes, apparel and accessories. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Finish Line has 650 stores in malls across the U.S. and employs more than 11,000 sneakerologists who help customers every day connect with their sport, their life and their style. Online shopping is available at www.finishline.com and mobile shopping is available at m.finishline.com. Follow Finish Line on Twitter at Twitter.com/FinishLine and “like” Finish Line on Facebook at Facebook.com/FinishLineUSA.

Finish Line also operates, through a venture with Gart Capital Partners, the Running Specialty Group, including 24 specialty running shops in seven states and the District of Columbia under The Running Company and Run On! banners. More information is available at www.run.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release includes statements that are or may be considered “forward-looking” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of words or phrases such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “foresee,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “estimates,” “outlook,” “potential,” “optimistic,” “confidence,” “continue,” “evolve,” “expand,” “growth” or words and phrases of similar meaning. Statements that describe objectives, plans or goals also are forward-looking statements.

All of these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the relevant forward-looking statements. The principal risk factors that could cause actual performance and future actions to differ materially from the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the company’s reliance on a few key vendors for a majority of its merchandise purchases (including a significant portion from one key vendor); the availability and timely receipt of products; the ability to timely fulfill and ship products to customers; fluctuations in oil prices causing changes in gasoline and energy prices, resulting in changes in consumer spending as well as increases in utility, freight and product costs; product demand and market acceptance risks; deterioration of macro-economic and business conditions; the inability to locate and obtain or retain acceptable lease terms for the company’s stores; the effect of competitive products and pricing; loss of key employees; execution of strategic growth initiatives (including actual and potential mergers and acquisitions and other components of the company’s capital allocation strategy); and the other risks detailed in the company’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Readers are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included herein are made only as of the date of this report and Finish Line undertakes no obligation to publicly update these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.