We Interview Paul Vander Tuig, Assistant Athletics Director for Trademark Licensing for Kansas About the Launch of their Exclusive College Vault Leather Jacket

March 5, 2024

The Collegiate Licensing Company, in partnership with Kansas Athletics, collaborated with renowned fashion designer Jeff Hamilton and launched a vintage-inspired leather jacket as part of the Jayhawks' College Vault merchandise program.

Hamilton, known for his high-end leather jackets adorned with sports and culturally relevant designs, teamed up with Kansas licensee, Original Retro Brand. This collaboration marks the official launch of Hamilton's new licensed product initiative, celebrating Kansas' rich basketball history through luxury outerwear.

Launched February 24, The Kansas College Vault X Jeff Hamilton line is exclusively available at the Rally House in Lawrence, featuring limited-edition jackets accompanied by branded bags and College Vault wooden hangers. This inaugural release under CLC's College Vault collection represents a milestone, introducing high-end college outerwear to the program and uniting Hamilton's craftsmanship and passion for basketball with the timeless appeal of collegiate fashion.

Collegiate Licensing World caught up with Paul Vander Tuig, Assistant Athletics Director for Trademark Licensing for Kansas, and asked him a few questions about the project, below is our interview.

Collegiate Licensing World: How was the idea of the jacket born?

Paul Vander Tuig: My sense is that a relationship between our licensee, Original Retro Brand, and Jeff Hamilton was the genesis of the idea for the Kansas jacket. As Jeff’s work permeates through many markets, and especially the NBA, I think college basketball was kind of a next channel for his work to be featured. ORB approached Jeff Hamilton with the strategy of being the collegiate vintage experts and wanting to bring that value to JH, while looking for basketball schools with a story to tell. The Evolution of the Jayhawk was a perfect fit.

CLW: Can you tell us about your role in bringing the program to creation? Did you face any challenges along the way?

Vander Tuig: Beyond agreeing to let Kansas be one of the first schools to go down this path, we collaborated with ORB and CLC on the story telling of the jacket. It definitely is a unique partnership between our storied basketball program and our consumers. ORB was familiar with our brand and our College Vault marks, so they pretty much nailed the design. One challenge that I saw was the price point of the jackets. Not having ever shopped for a jacket designed by Jeff, I honestly was not familiar with the potential market. On the day we launched, I learned that not only is there a market from the general and rabid KU fan, but that there are consumers out there that actually collect his jackets. In our case, the first fan to purchase this Kansas jacket when we launched was in fact a Jeff Hamilton jacket collector, but also a KU fan… so it was an easy sale.

Given the price point and limited quantities, we were also aware of the need to make sure this program reached the widest audience of both Kansas and Jeff Hamilton fans. Through our collaboration with our agent, CLC, plus Rally House's relationship as an official Kansas Sponsor through Learfield, Rally House was able to secure NIL deals with a former KU player, Gradey Dick, as well as a current player, Hunter Dickinson, to reach a substantially larger audience of College and NBA fans via social posts.

CLW: Overall, do you feel your licensing program has success with the Vault program? Do you feel your customers are specifically seeking out the retro logos?

Vander Tuig: Kansas arguably has the best selection of College Vault marks in the college market. If you aren’t familiar with our brand, we’ve had basically six Jayhawk logos that have become iconic, beginning with the one drawn in 1912. As the jacket properly notes, we’ve had an evolution of the Jayhawk since then with the last minor changes in 2005—which was really an update of a font on the logo. Prior to that, the Jayhawk logo was unchanged since drawn in 1946. Our fans love the variety of our retro logos. I think the uniqueness of each appeals to different cross sections of fans. The fact that KU is one of very few institutions with a detailed record of our vintage marks, which allowed for a more authentic story of how the logos have been used

CLW: In regards to your Vault program, are you able to give us insight into what product or products you might be creating next?

Vander Tuig: This is tough question because it’s a prediction about a market that it is tough to gauge. I’m confident that our vault licensees are probably gearing up to find the next “thing” that can help us move the needle. Vintage, “throwback”, or vault designs continue to appeal to fans that simply want something unique and has unique stories. It’s actually probably time for me to go back up to our University archives and see if there is another subset of unique logo references that can tell more great stories about a certain time in our University’s great history. In terms of what kind of product is next, it is probably some kind of combination of a 90’s feel, oversized graphics, with soft-as-possible to touch hand to the fabric—unique garment styles that replicate the old in a modern way. It’s probably evolving into more than just a retro logo, but the care and workmanship that vintage apparel has the reputation to have, that is the expectation and future of Kansas Vault product.

CLW: In your experience in creating the leather jacket program, do you have advice for other schools that might have interest in launching special one-of-a-kind products?

Vander Tuig: Probably the simplest way to answer this question would be to say “work with great partners”.  Collaborating with Original Retro Brand, Jeff Hamilton’s design team, Rally House as the retailer in our case, and with CLC, proved to be a winning formula to tell the story. The story is crucial. It is imperative to have a story behind the product to make it interesting, and not just a collage of logos. Luckily for KU, our Vault program is a story, via the Evolution of the Jayhawk, but in the next iteration of Kansas College Vault x Jeff Hamilton, we will all have to approach it with a unique perspective to keep the consumer/fan wanting more.

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Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC): https://www.collegiatelicensingworld.com/collegiate-licensing-company