It's a scene sports store managers surely recognize... Illini apparel flying off the shelves. "This reminds me a little bit of when Illinois went to the final four two years ago," says Te Shurt manager John Lee. "It's that type of business." Lee and other store managers agree, business has been booming since the U of I announced it will retire the chief. "We've seen quite a few people coming out and grabbing as much chief merchandise as they can," says T.I.S. College Bookstore Jon Tichenor. U of I junior Samantha Myers is buying chief gear for her whole family. Twelve shirts in all. "It's probably like $100 bucks," Myers says. "That's okay... it's worth it." For now, store owners are enjoying the boost in sales, but they aren't sure how long before it bursts. "We really haven't heard anything," Lee says. The University says it hasn't decided if it will keep the trademark logo, and administrators say they don't have a timeline. They say the NCAA was most concerned about the dance, so that's what they dealt with first. So, for now, store owners are left in limbo. "We at this point have not been told when we have to stop producing and selling chief merchandise," Lee says. "So we are going to produce and sell until we can't." Administrators are talking with trademark lawyers to find out what the best option is. U of I gets nearly two-million in royalties a year... thousands from Chief Illiniwek alone. The University won't say whether it wants to keep the logo or not; administrators are simply saying it's a possibility. However, they do acknowledge eliminating this logo could mean a big hit for everyone's business. "Very much so," Lee says. "It's going to hurt." "You're eliminating fifty percent of what our design choices are currently in our store," Tichenor says. So shop owners are already getting creative for their customers. Thier ideas for getting around a retired chief logo? "I think maybe the word chief, as long as it's not used in conjuction with anything with the university of illinois," Lee says. What Lee and others don't want to see... chief shirts showing up on the black market. "Once this is all over, they'll still be a lot of black-market stuff that might be available," Lee says. That would mean more bad news local, licensed screenprinters. In the meantime, Tichenor has a plan for his family business; rooting for a winning season next year. He says that could help rebound the sales they'll lose once this logo is no longer. "It really is dependent on the success and failure of the basketball and football teams," Tichenor says. "That's what drives these types of sales."
