Chief Of Staff: Sales Of UI Illiniwek Merchandise Surging

Stores Seeing Surge In Illiniwek Merchandise Sales Since NCAA’s Ruling

Online orders to T.I.S. College Bookstore for merchandise with the Univ. of Illinois’ Chief Illiniwek mascot “immediately surged after the university’s decision to retire” the mascot in February, causing the store to tell customers “deliveries could take up to four weeks,” according to Stu Durando of the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. The Web site received 1,800 orders within two weeks of the decision, and the store and Web site have combined to sell $500,000 in chief-related items in two months. GameDay Spirit Manager Cory Shumard said that “more than 90[%] of his sales are now for chief items and that his business in March tripled over last year.” Shumard said, “Once the announcement was made, our online business became what I affectionately call a Final Four pace.” T.I.S. Manager Jon Tichenor estimated that sales of Illiniwek materials “will surpass sales numbers for the 2005 Final Four.” Durando noted the school’s official Web site has “halted sales of chief merchandise, but in February and March, revenue increased 160[%] over last year to $167,000” (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 4/16).

WE ARE THE BOYS: The ORLANDO BUSINESS JOURNAL’s Bill Orben reports the Univ. of Florida’s (UF) back-to-back men’s basketball championships and football national championship “likely will be worth $1[M] in revenue” for Florida-based TL Sportswear, which has an NCAA license to supply retailers with championship T-shirts. The company posted $4M in sales in ’06, and “expects to realize a 25[%] increase in revenue this year.” UF’s licensing revenue in ’05-06 rose from $2.5M to over $3M, and it is “expected to rise again this year based on the strength of the school’s last two titles” (ORLANDO BUSINESS JOURNAL, 4/13 issue).

KNIGHT FALL: The Univ. of Central Florida is dropping “Golden” from its nickname and “will simply be known as the Knights.” The school will unveil the name and a new logo on June 14, with new merchandise coming a day later (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 4/16).