KNOXVILLE — The Collegiate Licensing Company, the University of Tennessee, and local law enforcement officials will be on the lookout Saturday for fraudulent merchandise at the UT-Fresno State football game.
Michael Young of UT’s Licensing Office said revenues from licensed merchandise help support UT’s general scholarship fund. Thousands of dollars in revenues can be lost due to sale of counterfeit merchandise, he said.
“Unlicensed merchandise undermines the university’s standards of quality and control over its logos,” Young said. “It also is detrimental to scholarship funding.
“We will be checking vendors near Neyland Stadium, Cumberland Avenue, specialty shops, and malls for counterfeit UT Vols and Fresno State Bulldogs merchandise that has not been approved for sale by the universities,” Young said.
When purchasing the teams’ merchandise, consumers should always look for the following characteristics to ensure the merchandise they purchase is officially licensed:
· Officially licensed products should display the Officially Licensed Collegiate Product logo tag or hologram.
· The merchandise should depict Tennessee and Fresno State logos and marks in a tasteful manner.
· The tag on the garment should be intact. A torn or missing tag is evidence of a second-hand garment that does not meet quality standards.
· The name of the manufacturer should be on the product as a hangtag, a neck label, or screen-printed directly on the garment.
· All merchandise should have appropriate trademark designations, such as TM or Ã’, next to a specific name or design.
Atlanta-based CLC, the oldest and largest licensing representative in the nation, includes as members more than 200 colleges, universities, bowl games, athletic conferences, The Heisman trophy, and the NCAA.