What's in a name? Cash for colleges

Wearing a shirt emblazoned with a college's name and logo has long been a source of status and school pride for students, as well as free publicity for the school. But a growing market for collegiate merchandise -- ranging from shirts and hats to pens and paper to trash cans and bumper stickers -- has yielded another benefit to many colleges in the last ten years: big bucks. As the total annual sales of these products around the world approached $1 billion, most colleges began licensing the use of their name and logo to manufacturers both to ensure the tastefulness of the products and to cash in on a share of the profits. Cheryl Smith, an official with the Collegiate Licensing Company, which represents 122 schools in negotiations with sportswear manufacturers such as Champion and Russell, said the "main reason fans buy merchandise is the success of sports teams or name recognition." And buy they have. Smith said CLC's five top-grossing schools for 1991 were Georgetown University, the University of Michigan, the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, the University of North Carolina and Florida State University, with each making about $1 million in royalties after taking a cut of 7.5 percent from total sales and paying CLC its share. Harvard and Yale universities, which enjoy high name recognition in the academic excellence arena, have fared about as well as the athletic powerhouses. Yale was ninth on CLC's list of top-grossing schools, the highest among schools without widely followed athletic programs. Harvard, which does not use an agent such as CLC, made about $1 million last year, according to Sylvia Struss, Harvard's trademark licensing officer. Steven Murray, who handles product licensing for the University, said the University earns about $20,000 annually from royalties, all of which goes into the general fund. By contrast, more Georgetown products are sold in New York and Los Angeles than in Washington, D.C., according to Brian McGuire, who oversees licensing for the Washington school. But Murray said although the University makes relatively little in added revenue, it is still important to make sure that the trademarks are used "properly." He said the University owns rights to the name "University of Pennsylvania," the blue and red split "P", the University's shield and circular logo, as well as the word "Penn" when used with the other registered trademarks. The University, like all schools, must first give a manufacturer permission to produce a certain product. Murray said the University rejects proposals "three or four times a year because somebody has tried to modify the logo or has merchandise that's in bad taste." But Smith said not all manufacturers follow the legal process of seeking prior approval from schools, adding that some products in the stores are not officially licensed. To eliminate the illegal competition, Smith said that besides accounting, royalty tracking and licensee auditing, CLC devotes substantial time to enforcing product licensing. She said CLC representatives "shop the market" all over the country in an attempt to root out illegal products and remind retailers not to buy unlicensed merchandise. In fact, Harvard University began licensing its name and logo only when a Japanese company tried to register trademarks for Harvard for a new clothing line. Struss said the Harvard Corporation, which had resisted "selling the Harvard name" for years, finally agreed to work with the Japanese group because "we decided we might as well have some control over it if it would be done anyway." That agreement led to the Harvard University line of clothing, complete with suits bearing the Harvard label, and has since earned Harvard $200,000 annually. Harvard, too, is vigilant in its efforts to control all Harvard products. Struss said the university sends representatives into the stores, gets information from manufacturers and retains attorneys who have "investigators" around the country. Struss added that while there have been "some problems" with unapproved merchandise, there have not been "enough to bring a lawsuit yet. And I emphasize 'yet.' " Each university decides how to use the profits earned on the sale of its products. Smith said the various uses include athletics, building funds and scholarships. Struss said Harvard, which she said does not really need the added revenue, has devoted all of its profits to matching scholarship grants. The only groups exempt from licensing restrictions are not-for-profit campus groups, including fraternities or extracurricular organizations. These groups still must receive prior permission from their school, but they are not required to pay royalties.

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