Dooney & Bourke drenches itself in green and yellow

Student debt? Nah. Rising cost of tuition? Nope. Who can think about that when you’ve got yellow O’s in your eyes? Now, you can put your student loan dollars toward Dooney & Bourke’s (ironically named) $218 NCAA Oregon Hobo bag or the $128 NCAA Oregon Continental Clutch. In fact, when those student loan bills come due, you can store them chicly in the $248 NCAA Oregon Zip Zip Satchel.

Yes, the University of Oregon’s ubiquitous green and yellow spirit has finally vomited on designer fashion (it’s no longer limited to Victoria’s Secret). The luxury handbag and accessories brand has added the University of Oregon to its Signature Collegiate Collection, which includes 31 other schools. Thank god. Those co-eds have to keep their ticket stubs somewhere. At bowl games, UO students can now swing their school-pride designer duds at other schools’ fans when things get heated (Auburn is also part of the collection).

Dooney & Bourke wants you to know (via press release) that this collection is perfect:
“For newly graduated high school student entering their freshman year of college or seasoned college veterans with a few years under their belt, it’s never too late too late to proudly support their new home or the place they called home for the past few years.”

Select UO Duck Stores will begin selling them during 2015-16 football season.

According to an Aug. 12 Forbes article: “The collegiate merchandise market is second only to Major League Baseball, with $4.6 billion in annual retail sales.”

The article also states these licensing deals for universities are brokered via sports licensing brand IMG College, a third-party media rights holder, which the UO has been a client of since 2008.

The IMG College client webpage for UO states: Production and distribution of radio programs; signage; corporate partner program; game and special events promotions for radio and television; market Duck Vision Video Production on football game day; printing and publishing; hospitality; naming rights for baseball facility; sale of advertising on ticket fronts/back; ticket envelopes and parking passes.

A December 2014 Around the O post says that “Currently, almost 400 companies are licensed to use University of Oregon trademarks.”

Raise a green and yellow clutch to pure unbridled and un-commercialized school spirit. To quote Garfunkle & Oates, “Don’t I look cute in this football shirt?”

Sports! Go Sports!