Penn State has "fallen only two spots," from 10th to 12th, in CLC's annual royalty rankings for the '11-12 school year, according to Darren Rovell of ESPN.com. Despite the fallout from the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal, PSU "still generated more royalties last school year than any other Big Ten school except for Michigan." CLC does not provide sales numbers as the rankings "represent where the schools fall in terms of getting royalties from their trademarked items being sold at retail." State College-based apparel retailer Lions Pride Store Manager Steve Moyer said the store in December, following the news of the scandal and the firing of football coach Joe Paterno, was "down 25 percent over the previous year." But he said that in the "next two months business turned around." Moyer: "When JoePa passed away we were doing really well. It was our best January and February on record." He added that the store has sold "more Nittany Lions gear in the past couple weeks since the NCAA handed down its sanctions but realizes that the future is still a very big question mark." SportsOneSource analyst Matt Powell said that PSU sales at sporting goods stores in July "were down 50 percent from where they were during the same period last year" (ESPN.com, 8/7).
| RK |
SCHOOL |
RK |
SCHOOL |
| 1) |
Texas |
14) |
Arkansas |
| 2) |
Alabama |
15) |
Wisconsin |
| 3) |
Kentucky |
16) |
Tennessee |
| 4) |
Florida |
17) |
West Virginia |
| 5) |
Michigan |
18) |
South Carolina |
| 6) |
LSU |
19) |
Texas A&M |
| 7) |
North Carolina |
20) |
Missouri |
| 8) |
Georgia |
21) |
Florida State |
| 9) |
Notre Dame |
22) |
Kansas |
| 10) |
Oklahoma |
23) |
Oklahoma State |
| 11) |
Auburn |
24) |
Clemson |
| 12) |
Penn State |
25) |
Illinois |
| 13) |
Nebraska |
|
|
CHANGES TO PENN STATE UNIFORMS: In Pennsylvania, Guy Cipriano
reports the names of PSU players "will be added to the back of players’ jerseys” for the upcoming football season.
Coach Bill O’Brien said that there is “a poignant reason for the addition of the names: recognizing the players who remain committed to the program.” Cipriano notes the school also is “adding blue ribbons to uniforms, a move designed to support child abuse victims.” It is “possible more uniform changes will be revealed at the opener, although O’Brien and players are keeping images of potential gameday apparel changes hidden” (
CENTRE DAILY NEWS, 8/8). ESPN’s Mark May said it is “great that they’re recognizing” the victims of child abuse, while putting names on the uniforms is “another piece of the puzzle to basically say the Paterno era is over ... and we’re trying to move on.”
ESPN’s Desmond Howard said this signals “a new era” at Penn State and a way to “get away from yesterday and move into today” (
“College Football Live,” ESPN, 8/7).
