The Appeal of Sports Apparel

What would a stadium look like without any support of its fans? Could you imagine a Saturday in the Big House where no one was adorned in Maize and Blue apparel? Lots of the Big Ten Spirit comes from our ability to find Maize and Blue clothing all over campus. Wearing our colors supports our teams and creates a feeling of team unity!
When Steve and Barry's relocatd in 1996, it became the world's largest 'M' clothing outlet. Before Steve and Barry's, a university campus store has never devoted solely to university color coded clothing. Altough the two founders of Steve and Barry's opened atleast 8 other stores on campuses nationwide, they love the U of M Steve and Barry's because it parallel's what the university prides itself in: top notch athletic programs combined with a top academic reputation.

Check on more on Steve and Barry's at locations nearest you:
Steve and Barry's website


Photo taken of an employee inside Steve and Barry's on S.State St.

"A Michigan Loss Can Sometimes Be A Charitable Gain"

Did you ever wonder what happens if sports apparel stores around campus start smelling roses too quickly? Before the big games, clothing manufacturers, along with retailers, must make an important decision of whether they anticipate a Wolverine victory or just wait for the game's final score? A number of stores took a chance by printing T-shirts and making hats before the Wolverines had secured a spot in the Rose Bowl, anticipating that Michigan fans would want apparel immediately if the team was in fact going to play in the game. If Michigan was not going to play in the Rose Bowl, Moe Sport Shops Inc. would have donated most of the apparel to charity. In the past, for example like in 1997, when the hockey team lost, Moe's wrongly predicted their victory and pre-made clothing, which they later donated to charity. Although Moe's takes a gamble, Steve and Barry's takes a conservative approach since they never pre-print and they just try to respond as quickly as possible to a Wolverine victory. Along with Steve and Barry's, the other three main apparel stores on campus Ulrich's, Michigan Book & Supply and the Union Bookstore are ready to print for any big win, but do not do so until the win occurs. These stores believe the risk involved is larger than the benefit of getting apparel out only a measily 8 hours sooner.
So next time you are watching the game, I ask are you going to run out and buy Michigan apparel as soon as its over?

Here is a great place online to shop for all of your favorite Wolverine apparel:
Michigan Wolverine Apparel Online

"Chief Wahoo Controversy"

Raised in Cleveland, Ohio, I have grown to have an affinity towards all Cleveland Sports, especially the Cleveland Indians. Although they may not have won a World Series in my lifetime, I am not a "fair weather fan". Many sports fans are unaware that this Cleveland team hasn't always been referred to as the Indians. During the years of 1901 to 1914, the team had three different names: the Cleveland Blues, the Cleveland Bronchos, and the Cleveland Naps. Could you imagine if any of these names were still around today? There is so much tradition in the Cleveland Indians Major League Baseball History, although some of it recently has brought along a lot of controversy. Many believe that the Chief Wahoo head, worn on all hats, caps, and t-shirts, is a racist logo. However, others feel that the feather on Chief Wahoo's head is a sacred symbol, part of the Cleveland baseball culture. The hook nose and the grinning buck teeth are caricatures of real people and they are not just stereotypes of Native Americans or American Indians. Others in support of the logo believe Chief Wahoo is justified because the symbol avoids other insensitive themes such as tomahawks, tepees, and warriors on horseback. The Cleveland Indians are aware of the controversies involved in this logo issue and never intended to target any group in stereotypes. So, who knows...maybe the Cleveland Indians may experience another name change...along with a new team logo?!?

For more information on the Cleveland Indians, check out their website
Cleveland Indian's Website

Wheeling and Dealing with Large Coporations: Just Do It!

Just as in professional sports, college level sports are also faced with choices on what company brand images they choose to endorse. Athletic gear companies are definitely aware of the benefits connecting their products to premier athletes and teams. Professional teams and players receive large amounts of money and free sportswear from endorsement deals. However, because of the NCAA's rules in college level athletics, college athletes are only allowed to receive certain benefits like tuition, books, and room & board from a university. Logos are allowed to appear on uniforms (check out some of Michigan uniforms for example.) since the NCAA rules allow a manufacturer's logo to be used on uniforms if the logo isn't larger than 2 square inches.

Also, unlike professional sports teams, universities make individual arrangements with manufacturers of products and deal with hundreds of different companies that make different items. Large apparel companies, like Nike, have the national coverage, in terms of advertising budgets and marketing strategies that help universities widely distribute their products and apparel. Michigan has made deals with Nike in the past! You can check out Nike's sports apparel by clicking on the link below:

Nike's webpage

Michigan Basketball Uniform

Now, many of us wish that Michigan Football could last all year round (but atleast this year we have something to celebrate about) since Michigan will be playing in the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2005. This year we are all encouraged by the Michigan Basketball Team who seem to have a very promising season ahead. The Basketball Team also has to live up to the Big Ten expectation of bleeding Maize and Blue through and through, since tradition is the key at this university. However, just as the Michigan Football helmet has been modified throughout the years, so too has the Michigan Basketball Jersey. The "Block M" (as we refer to it here at the University of Michigan) carries a significant brand equity, quite comparable to the Nike Swoosh. So it is to no one's surprise, that Michigan would team up with Nike and come up with a more "stylish" basketball uniform. Traditionally, Michigan was worn on the jersey above the players' number "teamed" with solid colored shorts sporting the block M. Over the past 5 years with the recent changes on the Michigan basketball uniform, many sports fans were upset to find that on the new uniform the sacred word of Michigan was eliminated from the tank-top part of the jersey in exchange for the branded block 'M'. The once simple block M shorts, now have a solid blue stripes going down each leg with a yellow 'M' placed in the middle.

For more on Michigan Men's basketball (and to check out their sexy uniforms)

Michigan Men's Varsity Basketball

The University of Michigan's Football Helmet

Since our team's webpage is "geared" toward sports (no pun intended), I decided to contribute my portion of the website toward sportswear. As a proud student of the University of Michigan, I can say "I am proud to be a Michigan Wolverine!" Every Saturday each fall I look forward to spending time in the "Big House" cheering on the Michigan Football team! But aside from all of the excitement of the fans, the field, the football, have you ever taken a second to wonder how exactly the uniform, in particular the helmet, came from and why we bleed "Maize and Blue"?

Throughout the history of the University of Michigan, we have used a "winged" design, which today as become synonomous with the "Michigan" design. Since today's maize and blue uniforms contain numbers to identify the players, the Michigan helmet no longer "sports" the number as it did in the early 1960s. The shape of the wings on the helmet have remained pretty consistent, along with the width of the maize stripes. To learn more about the indepth history of the Michigan helmet, you can reference the history and legend behind it by visiting:

Michigan Helmet History

To learn more about Michigan Football and all its glory, visit Brian's Blog on "Michigan Football"

Alyssa's College Experience

Here is where I have attended school for the past 3 years:

http://www.umich.edu

The University of Michigan has provided me with wonderful opportunities that I will cherish for a lifetime! I encourage you to check out the website and come and visit, if you have not yet had a chance!

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Alyssa Miller alyssam@umich.edu

The OC My favorite Thursday night TV show!

Currently I am enrolled in the Stephen M. Ross School of Business here at the University of Michigan.


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