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Licensees Horn In On Bulls' Success

SCOTT ISKOWITZ/ Tampa Tribune

USF student John Torres looks for some new USF merchandise at Bulls Outfitter.

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By TED JACKOVICS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 11, 2007

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TAMPA - Sales of University of South Florida apparel and merchandise soared as the football team achieved its first top 10 national ranking this fall. The biggest benefits, though, are yet to come, school and business officials think.

'This coming quarter is going to be through the roof for USF, which is likely to have the biggest royalty gains in the land,' said Mike Carlton, director of university services for Collegiate Licensing Co., which tracks retail sales for 200 colleges.

USF's football success, however, should lead to greater long-term sales than usually occur when a sports team excels. Not only is consumer demand up for USF gear, but additional manufacturers also are seeking licenses to add USF items to their production lines, Carlton said.

That means more manufacturers will remain in the mix to produce Bulls items in the future, solidifying the newfound popularity the Bulls gained as more fans check out head football coach Jim Leavitt's stunningly swift defense and modern spread offense.

'There's no question our success on the field has been a short-term financial success in terms of sales and revenue,' said USF senior associate athletic director Bill McGillis. 'When you are in a hot market like we are, you see things moving quickly, but in large part the increases are through store inventory ordered last year.

'What we are going to see in the fall of 2008 is a dramatic increase for new product, and we see that growth as ongoing as more licensees get on board.'

Hard data are hard to come by for retail sales, so detailed comparisons of sales performance are difficult to make.

USF ranked No. 64 in royalties from wholesale sales of licensed school apparel and merchandise for the 12 months ended June 30, Collegiate Licensing's latest survey shows. The school gets an 8 percent royalty on wholesale sales of apparel and other merchandise, from lamps to license tag holders.

USF's retail ranking is bound to improve when sales data from the past two months are included, Carlton said.

Wal-Mart this fall ordered USF gear to sell in 39 Tampa Bay area outlets, while Dillard's increased local stores selling Bulls merchandise from one to five, he said.

Among new companies producing Bulls' gear are Columbia Sportswear, Impact Sports, Colony Sportswear, Northwest Company and Joe T's.

Jeffrey Neil Fox, a 1975 USF alumnus who owns It's Bucs & Bulls Heaven on North Florida Avenue near Bearss Avenue in Tampa, said he has gotten Internet orders for Bulls gear from throughout the world, including some from military personnel once assigned to MacDill Air Force Base.

The walk-in trade has kept his shop open beyond closing hours.

'Our inventory used to be two-third Bucs, one-third Bulls, but now the Bulls might be pulling ahead,' Fox said.

Among the more popular items he sells are the nonlicensed, nonetheless legal, specialty T-shirts created by Tampa-based Smack Apparel, which must avoid using official school logos that are part of licensed merchandise.

Smack owner Wayne Curtiss released a green T-shirt that lampooned a recent USF opponent, the University of West Virginia, over the tradition among some Mountaineer fans of celebrating a victory by burning a couch. It carried the message, 'Beat WVU, and The Couch-Burnin' Hillbillies They Brought With 'Em.'

That shirt originally was released to sell to Mountaineers in-state rival Marshall University. More than 4,000 of those shirts later sold in the Tampa Bay area.

Then Curtiss created a 'Member of Leavittown' T-shirt in honor of the USF coach. A caricature of Leavitt's tousled hair adorns the back of the shirt with the message 'Wild Hair, Even Better Football.'

The shirts gained the approval of USF officials to be sold at Raymond James Stadium on Saturday for the sold-out game versus the University of Central Florida.

Curtiss is a Florida State University alumnus who began selling T-shirts in 1998 and then left his job in food services for the Hillsborough County School District to start his business. The company now has $3 million in annual sales.

Curtiss had never attended a USF game until the North Carolina victory, a week before USF beat West Virginia and became ranked in the Top 10 for the first time in school history, cementing USF's local merchandise mania.

'I never went because I always watch a couple games at a time on TV to help keep up with what's going on for new ideas,' Curtiss said. 'But I'm sold. USF has a great thing going.'

The unprecedented football frenzy should extend to greater exposure of the university's academic and research endeavors, McGillis said.

'We are fortunate we got a fresh logo three years ago that's catching on around the country, but what really should pay off is that more people will learn about our school,' he said. 'We really should benefit all around.'

Reporter Ted Jackovics can be reached at tjackovics@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7817.

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