THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 14, 1996 TAG: 9604140098
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Short : 44 lines
New logos have increased sales of University of Virginia merchandise.
The school last April dumped the scowling Cavalier whose Vandyke beard, plumed hat and knitted brows had represented the school for 10 years.
In its place, the school uses two old and four new designs on its T-shirts, key chains and knickknacks. The scowling Cavalier had not been a big seller, school officials said.
``The word from the marketplace is that they like the new (logos),'' said Steven Heon, licensing director for the school's athletic department.
The school uses the crossed sabers as the official logo for the football team and the V-Virginia or split-V for the remaining athletic teams, both already popular with athletes and fans.
The four new designs - with images that include a Cavalier on a galloping horse, and a stylized ``Cavaliers'' with a plumed hat - are featured on other apparel.
Heon said royalties are up 5 percent over last year, when the school collected $411,000 in royalties from more than $13 million in retail sales of licensed merchandise.
``We haven't seen a major decline, and I think a lot of that has to do with our new logos,'' Heon said. They have been more popular outside Charlottesville, he said.
``I think a higher percentage of nonathletic-related folks are buying the new logos than athletic folks, which is fine because that's what we wanted, to create something that would be more attractive outside our fan base,'' Heon said.
But, as athletic officials have said, teams playing for championships sell more shirts than fancy logo designs.
``The team being on the court, on the field, on the television on a regular basis is much more important,'' said Mark Mincer, co-owner of Mincer's on the Corner, which sells hundreds of items of U.Va. apparel. by CNB