Walking into the Union Bookstore or a local retail store, a student may find a variety of products carrying the University logo, including hats, shirts, flags and umbrellas. These products generate hundreds of thousands of dollars to the University.
Heath Price, assistant to the vice chancellor for Finance and Administrative services, said the University made $850,000 gross profit in royalties last year.
Price said the University has experienced a slight increase in gross royalties this fiscal year, although final numbers are not in.
“The money that is derived from that goes to the general fund of the University,” Price said.
Price said this general fund is used to pay for a variety of University expenses, including campus repairs, scholarships and employee salaries.
“It goes to the entire campus,” Price said. “That’s one of the main reasons we’ve tried to increase the program.”
In addition to common items such as hats, T-shirts and umbrellas, Price said the University soon will introduce new products such as lunch boxes and new calendars.
“This time of year, with football season, we tend to see an increased demand for products, ” Price said.
Price said with more people on campus in the fall for football games, there is more demand for products used at games and for tailgating.
Many students have noticed higher prices on University merchandise in the Union Bookstore and stores such as Tiger Mania. Price said this is because of differences in retailing and product quality.
“A lot of factors go into that,” Price said. “Companies that produce products have channels of distribution.”
Price said University products sold at off-campus retail stores such as Wal-Mart usually are of a lesser quality than those found at locations such as Tiger Mania and the bookstore.
“The bookstore is considered an upstairs channel, while Wal-Mart would be considered a downstairs channel,” Price said. “It’s just different channels for different clientele.”
Corey Maggio, a psychology senior, said he often buys University products from other stores because of high prices.
But Maggio said he does not mind his money supporting University projects.
Angelle Jackson, a University staff member, said she thinks prices for most University merchandise is too high and that she was not concerned about a difference in quality.
“A T-shirt is a T-shirt, and a sweatshirt is a sweatshirt,” Jackson said. “There may be some differences, but not that many.”