Licensed Apparel

Couldn't help but notice that they sell official Nike UP basketball jerseys in the bookstore now. I only saw the purple away jersey with a No. 1 on it from the window. Still cool.

Excellent... IMO, there has not been enough Nike apparel in the bookstore previously!

An_Undergrad wrote:Couldn't help but notice that they sell official Nike UP basketball jerseys in the bookstore now. I only saw the purple away jersey with a No. 1 on it from the window. Still cool.

I think you'll find a number of us are just fine with our current uniforms, but I'll admit with the advent of color and the upgrade to Purple, there is an added appeal.  

Come to think of it, the "P" on our uniforms might have been Purple.....

I used to have some of those fisheads. The Army Airforce ordered them with black soles in WWII.

My dad scored a case of them at a surplus store.

PilotNut wrote:Excellent...  IMO, there has not been enough Nike apparel in the bookstore previously!

I like this. Every year they get a little better about stocking the same styles of gear the likes of Oregon and Oregon State have. Now if I could only get one of those cool purple shirts with the white sash the men's soccer team was wearing last weekend...

Who needs nike gear when you can get a Jansport sweatshirt. Thats what the kids really like these days.

DaTruRochin wrote:Who needs nike gear when you can get a Jansport sweatshirt. Thats what the kids really like these days.

Hahaha.....dying of laughing over here!

DaTruRochin wrote:Who needs nike gear when you can get a Jansport sweatshirt. Thats what the kids really like these days.

I know!  And, how many times did the merchadise stand at Chiles Center have exactly zero Nike options?  Well, just about every time, or the only option was a single generic t-shirt.   

It i$ di$appointing that the Athletic Department ha$n't figured thi$ out.... I know that the bookstore ultimately sells this stuff, but there seems to be no communication between the 2 entities, or apathy from Athletics to do anything about it. The "new" Nike logo hasnt moved the needle, either.  And, what about replica soccer jerseys?!  My goodness, haven't they noticed how fans buy these like crazy?!!  They tried once a couple years ago, but went totally short-sighted with cheap, non-authentic versions.  Get true replica jerseys!!   Sheesh....!

I can guarantee that a disconnect between what a campus bookstore actually sells and what the school's athletics department WANTS them to sell is not unique to the University of Portland.

Many schools have an agreement where the bookstore assumes all risk for selling merchandise, and as such they'll simply offer what they believe to be the most attractive option financially - at the expense, sometimes, of quality. In this situation, it's essentially a free cheque for the athletics department with no need to provide resources (financial or otherwise). These arrangements are why you might see clothing made by Jansport or Russell available at a school which has an athletic department supplied by Nike or Adidas.

Not saying this is what happens at UP, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was similar.

Just switched over to Under Armour in my neck of the woods. I won't miss the cheap Champion and Russell gear!

DeanMurdoch wrote:I can guarantee that a disconnect between what a campus bookstore actually sells and what the school's athletics department WANTS them to sell is not unique to the University of Portland.

Many schools have an agreement where the bookstore assumes all risk for selling merchandise, and as such they'll simply offer what they believe to be the most attractive option financially - at the expense, sometimes, of quality. In this situation, it's essentially a free cheque for the athletics department with no need to provide resources (financial or otherwise). These arrangements are why you might see clothing made by Jansport or Russell available at a school which has an athletic department supplied by Nike or Adidas.

Not saying this is what happens at UP, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was similar.

at one time the Athletic department controlled what went in which sales outlet. Dont know if that is still true.

But i talked to a manager once who said they couldn't get the stuff they wanted.

Geez, I think you are honing in on the problem... each side seems to indficate that the other is the issue. Do we have any trained mediators here?!

And, Deaner, I am certain that the Bookstore is understandably hesitant to invest heavily on pricier/nicer products that may or may not sell.... its the chicken and the egg scenario. There isn't a lot of options because things don't always sell. But... things don't always sell, because there aren't options.

I note from the Pilots Bookstore Facebook page they are now featuring a special “Item of the Week” each Monday and will continue to feature a new item every Monday throughout the year.

This week’s item is a Portland Pilots baseball cap .....(last week it was UP soccer balls)....that can be purchased this week for 25% off the original price. For more information call the Pilots Bookstore at (503) 943-7125.

https://www.facebook.com/UPbookstore

Cool hat! "Liked" for sure. I know that the bookstore stuff isn't always the nicest. But from what I can tell, things have improved dramatically since I was last on campus almost a decade ago. Slow progress maybe, but moving in the right direction.
I hope the enhanced online presence helps expand their market and free them from some of the issues that Dean mentioned.

So, last week the bookstore offered the "cool" hat....but this week's special is, well, an upgrade from the water buckets we used to have, but I'm not sure what all it does besides hold your favorite beverage:

Prevents Pliny spillage.

It's designed for hiking, "hydration on the go", an activity I am sure you try to avoid. It could be clipped with a carabiner to your golf cart.

pilotram wrote:Prevents Pliny spillage.

I use this model for Pliny the Youngest

OK, we're finally back to something practical and stylish for this week's UP Bookstore special:

Just tell the sales person you saw it on the store's Facebook page to receive a 25% discount.....I'm picking one up later today.

DoubleDipper wrote:Just tell the sales person you saw it on the store's Facebook page to receive a 25% discount.....I'm picking one up later today.

The scarf cost $18.73 after the 25% discount.

I forgive the bookstore for everything bad I said of them.