Lids Caps Distributor Says UNT Campus Licensors Are Stingy...

PlummMeanGreen · February 6, 2014

...with our brandings and logos they'd prefer to have for their UNT caps or headgear....

Yesterday.........I called and spoke with one of the reps at Captivating Headgear, ie, the supplier of college caps at Lids, Walmart, Loves, Academy, etc, and told him I'd been at my local Loves off I-20 and Bankhead Hwy yesterday and could not find and usually can never find a North Texas Mean Green baseball cap or as they call them...headgear.

In fact, I told him on the rare occasion that I could find one that I'd have to look underneath all the other caps to find (maybe) "1" UNT cap and it would be a very "plain Jane" version with only SOW on the front (which most outside DFW would mistake for a Philly' Eagle cap if the didn't look on the back to find........... a barely visible 'small letters' 'UNT'........BUT GET THIS..........

................looking at the Love's colleges headgear selection yesterday I did discover 6 caps from.............UTSA.................... and even a couple from TSU-SM and they all looked damn fine. The headgear from our fellow conference mate had nice large letters "UTSA" on the front coupled with a very nice design as well..

Undoubtedly, all of us who've been to Lids at our local malls know the "UNT" story on that, now don't we; that is, a very, very slim selection of UNT caps with only 1 (maybe 2) different designs....nothing special or to write home about by any means but so plain as to make you not want to purchase it. I've never seen any cap with the words "Mean Green" on them at any of these specialty stores of which Captivating Headgear is the distributor and just why ? ? ? ? (They can't get licensing approval from our campus officials who handle such to have such a cap with "Mean Green" on it, that's why).

Moving ~~forward~~ along.....then the Captivating Headgear rep tells me this: "We've spoken on a few occasions to your on-campus group who handles North Texas licensing and they won't release anymore branding designs for your school than the one we have." I responded..................."oh"...... :great: (why not pink letters to represent sarcasm on these posts, right)?

:thumbsu: The rep from Captivating Headgear (located in OK) went on to tell me how he had been through our campus many times, saw some of our HOD Bowl game on New Years Day and had even toured Apogee Stadium saying "now that is one nice college football stadium yall have built down there." He told me that he had 2 degrees from OU and had been at all the OU/North Texas football games in the past as an OU student and as an alum.

:huh2: I'm sure there has to be some reason those on our campus who are sitting on our college gear licensing choose not to share the UNT or Mean Green brand with so very many others down here in the Southwest but I cannot imagine what that reason would be. It's sorta' like some small town that is setting on a gold mine, the city fathers know it, flaunt it, protect it but they are not about to start digging up the gold to share with anyone else in their town least of all those living beyond it.

:cigar2: I know he will be busy his first days at North Texas, but I think it important that our new president Smatresk be made aware of this most important marketing-related subject. Perhaps even when he has his first open forum or "coffee" with UNT students if not before that. He needs to know all that happens with some on our campus who seem to take their positions much too serious (but maybe at the expense of our UNT students and alums at times)? ? ? ? After all, in Washington D.C. don't our politicians on both sides of the aisle call this kind of thing..............transparency?

http://www.captivatingheadgear.com/captivatingheadgearcat2012.pdf

Edited February 6, 2014 by PlummMeanGreen

Green Nightmare · February 6, 2014

If this is true it kind of sucks. Are they trying to drive everything through the meangreensports website?

PlummMeanGreen · February 6, 2014

If this is true it kind of sucks. Are they trying to drive everything through the meangreensports website?

Nothing wrong with what meangreensports website is doing with all this but come on now..............

.....................isn't their audience who even know about their website a tad limited?

Harry · February 6, 2014

You know if this is true -- it really pisses me off because it is favoring greed over the greater good of the program...

Who is in charge of this? Is there someone at UNT who wants to step forward and explain why they are limiting gear sales to the alumni who pay their damn salaries?

Mitzi Ybarbo · February 6, 2014

We need more items to choose from. Tons of cool stuff out there that would be great to have for UNT.

drex · February 6, 2014

The new president needs to have a 'fatherly chat' with the communications dept. at UNT and with Villareal. I have a license to do North Texas products, but have not gotten much help. I cannot even get the athletic dept. to help me get my stuff into the U Store. As a member of the Mean Green Club and football and basketball season ticket holder, you would think that I might get some consideration. I am the one who created the Eagle Eye and Battle Flag yard signs.

SilverEagle · February 6, 2014

The new president needs to have a 'fatherly chat' with the communications dept. at UNT and with Villareal. I have a license to do North Texas products, but have not gotten much help. I cannot even get the athletic dept. to help me get my stuff into the U Store. As a member of the Mean Green Club and football and basketball season ticket holder, you would think that I might get some consideration. I am the one who created the Eagle Eye and Battle Flag yard signs.

Someone(s) better get on the phone and get to him first.

Greenrex · February 6, 2014

If we are to establish, solidify, and promote our brand, we must move away from the Spider Matthews Concept. It sickens me.

Edited February 6, 2014 by Greenrex

UNTLifer · February 6, 2014

Who handles licensing for North Texas products? Who is the person on campus responsible for this ongoing problem?

Tyler Maryak · February 6, 2014

From my understanding, the problem is multi-faceted (naturally). URCM (University Relations, Communications, and Marketing) has, and has pretty much always, kept a strangle-hold on branding in order to keep more of the profits. That was especially true while we had the bookstore. I had hoped that with the introduction of Barnes & Noble, that'd loosen up, but it would seem it hasn't yet. There is also a team that is supposedly dedicated to promoting licensing, but they are so restricted (as well as not innovative) by university policies that no one wants to work with them. Of course, this could all be changed if someone (like the president, as suggested) made it a priority to promote branding outside of the university. But URCM, in their infinite wisdom won't have it.

Ben Gooding · February 6, 2014

Yep. This is disgusting if it's true. For real. Which isn't surprising. I find it hard to find good apparel in Denton. Kind of tired seeing UT and ATM practically decorating retail and athletic stores. That crap needs to go.

Tyler Maryak · February 6, 2014

Who handles licensing for North Texas products? Who is the person on campus responsible for this ongoing problem?

URCM. I sound like a broken record complaining about them, but I've been annoyed and frustrated by their warped priorities since I was a student worker.

meangreener · February 6, 2014

Yep. This is disgusting if it's true. For real. Which isn't surprising. I find it hard to find good apparel in Denton. Kind of tired seeing UT and ATM practically decorating retail and athletic stores. That crap needs to go.

I'm of the belief that this is solely UNT's fault and not our popularity. People want to buy our stuff. But it's not there for them to.

Now having said that, in north DFW and Denton at most of the sporting stores I see about the same amount of stuff as UT or A&M. Which is sad but it is what it is considering that we have to fight the branding department. But there is the occasional store like Target, Walmart and Lids in GT that have a decent NT selection. In fact their NT selection is bigger than any other school by a massive margin. It's all cheap stuff though.

It's ridiculous and something needs to be done. Doesn't help our recruiting out when you can't go to a Sports Authority and buy a nice NT hat.

It's frustrating that you can buy nice stuff now at the bookstore, Voertman's and Barefoot but that's about it. I do think they have loosened up a little, because there is more of a presence, BN has some excellent apparel and hats, and Voertman's has cool like "knock-off" shirts, essentially, under the new management.

We need more "loosening." Hurts us more than helps us

Zeke · February 6, 2014

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SilverEagle · February 6, 2014

From my understanding, the problem is multi-faceted (naturally). URCM (University Relations, Communications, and Marketing) has, and has pretty much always, kept a strangle-hold on branding in order to keep more of the profits. That was especially true while we had the bookstore. I had hoped that with the introduction of Barnes & Noble, that'd loosen up, but it would seem it hasn't yet. There is also a team that is supposedly dedicated to promoting licensing, but they are so restricted (as well as not innovative) by university policies that no one wants to work with them. Of course, this could all be changed if someone (like the president, as suggested) made it a priority to promote branding outside of the university. But URCM, in their infinite wisdom won't have it.

I've said soooo many times in the past that NT almost invented the word "bureaucracy". Believe me, I know what I'm talking about. I spent 33yrs 5 months working for a very legalistic state agency. And North Texas beats them.....hands down.

The Fake Lonnie Finch · February 6, 2014

LongJim · February 6, 2014

...with our brandings and logos they'd prefer to have for their UNT caps or headgear....

Yesterday.........I called and spoke with one of the reps at Captivating Headgear, ie, the supplier of college caps at Lids, Walmart, Loves, Academy, etc, and told him I'd been at my local Loves off I-20 and Bankhead Hwy yesterday and could not find and usually can never find a North Texas Mean Green baseball cap or as they call them...headgear.

Jim,

It's funny--every time I have been in the Love's in Ranger (I20) they have had UNT hats. Now, they only have 1 style (that I have seen) but that's the first time I had seen them AT ALL in that store in the last 10 years or so. So maybe there's some cause for optimism.

BTW, unless they've added some stuff, Voertman's was recently sold and their inventory is a joke.

The Fake Lonnie Finch · February 6, 2014

Ranger? Holy cow, dude! The Hill!

greenminer · February 6, 2014

counter productive if they are keeping this so close to chest.

LongJim · February 6, 2014

Ranger? Holy cow, dude! The Hill!

Yeah, I know. Last potty break before Abilene. Hammer down after that stop.

cdizzle86 · February 6, 2014

Does anybody have an email address to whoever is responsible?

The Fake Lonnie Finch · February 6, 2014

Yeah, I know. Last potty break before Abilene. Hammer down after that stop.

Edited July 28, 2014 by The Fake Lonnie Finch

SUMG · February 6, 2014

...with our brandings and logos they'd prefer to have for their UNT caps or headgear....

Yesterday.........I called and spoke with one of the reps at Captivating Headgear, ie, the supplier of college caps at Lids, Walmart, Loves, Academy, etc, and told him I'd been at my local Loves off I-20 and Bankhead Hwy yesterday and could not find and usually can never find a North Texas Mean Green baseball cap or as they call them...headgear.

In fact, I told him on the rare occasion that I could find one that I'd have to look underneath all the other caps to find (maybe) "1" UNT cap and it would be a very "plain Jane" version with only SOW on the front (which most outside DFW would mistake for a Philly' Eagle cap if the didn't look on the back to find........... a barely visible 'small letters' 'UNT'........BUT GET THIS..........

................looking at the Love's colleges headgear selection yesterday I did discover 6 caps from.............UTSA.................... and even a couple from TSU-SM and they all looked damn fine. The headgear from our fellow conference mate had nice large letters "UTSA" on the front coupled with a very nice design as well..

Undoubtedly, all of us who've been to Lids at our local malls know the "UNT" story on that, now don't we; that is, a very, very slim selection of UNT caps with only 1 (maybe 2) different designs....nothing special or to write home about by any means but so plain as to make you not want to purchase it. I've never seen any cap with the words "Mean Green" on them at any of these specialty stores of which Captivating Headgear is the distributor and just why ? ? ? ? (They can't get licensing approval from our campus officials who handle such to have such a cap with "Mean Green" on it, that's why).

Moving ~~forward~~ along.....then the Captivating Headgear rep tells me this: "We've spoken on a few occasions to your on-campus group who handles North Texas licensing and they won't release anymore branding designs for your school than the one we have." I responded..................."oh"...... (why not pink letters to represent sarcasm on these posts, right)?

The rep from Captivating Headgear (located in OK) went on to tell me how he had been through our campus many times, saw some of our HOD Bowl game on New Years Day and had even toured Apogee Stadium saying "now that is one nice college football stadium yall have built down there." He told me that he had 2 degrees from OU and had been at all the OU/North Texas football games in the past as an OU student and as an alum.

I'm sure there has to be some reason those on our campus who are sitting on our college gear licensing choose not to share the UNT or Mean Green brand with so very many others down here in the Southwest but I cannot imagine what that reason would be. It's sorta' like some small town that is setting on a gold mine, the city fathers know it, flaunt it, protect it but they are not about to start digging up the gold to share with anyone else in their town least of all those living beyond it.

I know he will be busy his first days at North Texas, but I think it important that our new president Smatresk be made aware of this most important marketing-related subject. Perhaps even when he has his first open forum or "coffee" with UNT students if not before that. He needs to know all that happens with some on our campus who seem to take their positions much too serious (but maybe at the expense of our UNT students and alums at times)? ? ? ? After all, in Washington D.C. don't our politicians on both sides of the aisle call this kind of thing..............transparency?

http://www.captivatingheadgear.com/captivatingheadgearcat2012.pdf

Love's? Also, let it be noted that the Rest Area near the Mile 81 marker on Interstate 30.....has no NT caps. I've already called TxDOT to let 'em know how I feel about it.

Tyler Maryak · February 6, 2014

You got it Zeke

Tyler Maryak · February 6, 2014

Does anybody have an email address to whoever is responsible?

You may notice one from the top from this thread.

There's also this: I almost want to try and get permission to use the brand for something just to experience for myself how difficult it is. EVERYONE you ask about having UNT stuff says it's too difficult or expensive.