By Charles L. Westmoreland
A Notre Dame football game sparked a new tradition at the University of Louisville when business professor Buddy LaForge noticed something about the fans in attendance: each one was wearing the same Notre Dame T-shirt.
The sense of community and tradition was inspiring to LaForge, who took an old idea, added a fresh twist, and then shared his vision with a few students in the Business College. As a result, in April 2004, the RedShirt Company was born.
”We needed more community and tradition at U of L,” LaForge said, explaining that the RedShirt Company serves three purposes: to build community and tradition, provide students with a learning experience and provide scholarships for the Business College.
The RedShirt Company is the Business College’s nonprofit organization that develops, markets and sells the official game-day shirts for all U of L athletic events. The fresh twist LaForge added is what makes the Red Shirt Company unique: every division of the business is operated by students. LaForge serves as adviser but says students decide how the company is run, ultimately determining overall success.
Sales and Inventory Vice President Mindy Pugh said she has noticed the company’s success in several ways, from the number of shirts being sold to increased membership in the company.
”Before, there was no real community or tradition around U of L sports as far as students are concerned,” she said. “The RedShirts make everyone feel like they’re part of the U of L community. It makes everyone more unified. This year you can see them everywhere on campus. At basketball games the student section is full of them now.”
Pugh said the company sold approximately 1,000 shirts its inaugural year, but sales spiked this year to more than 5,000 shirts sold.
”Ideally, we’d like to fill Papa Johns stadium and Freedom Hall with 30,000 or 40,000 RedShirts,” she said. “We’re building toward that goal.”
Marketing Vice President Virginia Jones said the company could possibly reach its goal if it sold RedShirts inside Freedom Hall and Papa Johns stadium. Currently, she said, a contract with another vendor forbids the RedShirt from being sold at athletic facilities. Jones said that may change in the future, but only after cutting through layers of red tape.
Jones said the RedShirt Company does have a solid working relationship with the athletic department, which helps finalize proposals for shirt design. In addition, each spring 2,000 RedShirts are given away to student who purchase season basketball and football tickets.
Pugh said the increased attention has garnered more student involvement with the company so they can now keep up with requests.
”Last year our demand of RedShirts surpassed our man power,” she said, adding that membership of the company nearly doubled this year to approximately 45 students.
The increased RedShirt sales mean more scholarship money flowing back into the business school. Last year, the RedShirt Company donated one $1,000 scholarship to the Business College. This year, two $2,000 scholarships will be donated. LaForge said he expects the amount of scholarship money to continue increasing with the shirt sales.
”The amount of scholarship money will do nothing but go up if the business succeeds,” he said. LaForge also said that in time scholarships may be available to all U of L students instead of only those enrolled at the Business School.
Pugh agreed that giving back to the community is an important part of the company’s mission.
”In order to build community and tradition it’s important to give back, and that’s what we’re doing by giving away the scholarships,” she said.
Jones said the next RedShirt design is still in the planning stages and will be unveiled at the spring football scrimmage.
