Cornell Hockey Hats

[Josh '99]

So, since I traded my Cornell CCM hat for a UM-Duluth hat at the Frozen Four last year (with valuable assistance from RichH), I've been trying to find myself a cool new Cornell Hockey hat, but with minimal success.  Has anyone seen any recently?  I haven't been in Ithaca lately so I don't know what the selection is like at the Campus Store, but I've never been thrilled about the options there.  I'm betting there's nothing terribly impressive.

Which brings me, I suppose, to my question/idea.  I think the UM-Duluth hat I have here, which was made by Zephyr, is really nice.  The hat itself is maroon.  The front has "Bulldogs" arched in yellow lettering with a white border, their bulldog logo under the arch with a yellow hockey stick behind it, and then below that the word "hockey" in maroon print on a small yellow field also with a white border.  The back says "UMD" in about 3/4" yellow letters with "hockey" in small white print below.  The bill is also maroon, but the edge of the bill is yellow, and all the way around on the left side of the bill there's a little white area with "NCAA" on it in black print.  It looks really sharp altogether, IMO.  Come to think of it, I can take a couple of pictures of it and save myself 1,000 words:

https://angel.ac.yu.edu/CLSUploads/Files/jmherman/umdhat1.JPG
https://angel.ac.yu.edu/CLSUploads/Files/jmherman/umdhat2.JPG
https://angel.ac.yu.edu/CLSUploads/Files/jmherman/umdhat3.JPG

The maroon actually looks a little bit washed out because of the flash, but you get the idea.

Anyway, so here's the question.  Zephyr will make custom hats if you can put together a minimum order of 144.  Picture a hat like this, in either red or white, with the print in the opposite color, and perhaps black trim.  A "C" in place of the bulldog logo.  Assuming we got permission from CU (which I assume would be necessary), would people be interested in a hat like that?  I think it would look a lot sharper than anything the campus store sells.

[cornelldavy]

Good luck with getting permission from the powers that be, but I'd get at least one.

[Rick \'71]

Here's where you can go to start your way through the bureaucracy:
http://sao.cornell.edu/SO/logo.php
Note that they have a list of approved vendors.  If Zephyr's not on it, you'll need to find another vendor.

[billhoward]

[Q]Rick '71 Wrote:

 Here's where you can go to start your way through the bureaucracy: Note that they have a list of approved vendors.  If Zephyr's not on it, you'll need to find another vendor.[/q]

In order to keep the Web page as brief as possible, Cornell left out one other reason for all the rules: the revenue stream. As of last reunion, campus store had a couple Cornell hockey hats, though most were understated and none had the requisite Harvard Sucks or Screw BU inscriptions under the visor.

>>> Cornell, like most major colleges and universities, has a licensing program that regulates the use of its marks (i.e., names, trademarks, insignia, logos, images, and the like) on items such as T-shirts, caps, key chains, mugs, pens, etc. This process helps prevent bootlegging, ensures that Cornell marks are used appropriately only on products approved by the university, and that the products are manufactured under a code of conduct that prohibits sweatshop conditions. All uses of university marks, including those of schools and colleges, departments, programs, and student organizations and projects that are identified with Cornell, must be approved before any item can be ordered and produced.

If you want custom, consider this alternative: buy a Cornell hockey hat officially and then find a local T-shirt / caps store that will embroider or puff on (there's another term for this printing that I'm forgetting, but it gives the lettering a puffy 3D appearance) whatever else you want. Once you own the cap, you can modify it to your needs. Last I checked, there's no licensing that could prevent you from *adding* to what's already on a licensed piece or Cornell sportswear.

You also could start with a blank cap or T-shirt and get a local shop to put on what you want. They won't run off orders of 100 because of liability issues but they'll do one or two.

One caveat: I bought last June for myself and our boys about four Cornell hockey / lacrosse caps at the campus store. Two of them began to unravel at the peak of the cap within a month. Also a Sox cap I bought (at Fenway) about a year ago with the official MLB logo was 2 hat sizes smaller than the tag claimed. Even when you pay top prices for caps, QC isn't what it ought to be.

[Will]

This is probably a stupid question, but...why on Earth did you get rid of your Cornell hat?

And, if your hat idea goes through, I'd get one, so long as it's big enough to fit my big fat head.  Normal hats don't fit my head, so I'd need something larger.

[bigggreddd77]

I would definitely get one...

On another note...any idea how to get a Cornell CCM hat?

[dss28]

I do like them, Sam I am.  I do like green eggs and ham.

[Rosey]

[Q]Note that they have a list of approved vendors.  If Zephyr's not on it, you'll need to find another vendor.[/q]

It seems likely that Zephyr will be on the "Collegiate Licensing Company" list.

FWIW, I own a NY Rangers Zephyr cap, and it's the bomb.  One of the best-made caps I own.

Kyle

[puff]

i'd most likely be interested depending on cost.

[nyc94]

[Q2]billhoward Wrote:
One caveat: I bought last June for myself and our boys about four Cornell hockey / lacrosse caps at the campus store. Two of them began to unravel at the peak of the cap within a month. [/q]

Did you return the hats?  I bought a Champion sweatshirt at the campus store in 1998 and within a month the whole side seam unraveled - waist to arm pit.  They did an exchange through the mail.

[billhoward]

Um, no, I didn't return them. I should. I probably will. Our boy, all 105 pounds of him, fancies himself the next Ken Dryden and proudly wears the hat to all his peewee or midget games before getting dressed. He doesn't want to give it up.

No reason the campus store shouldn't take them back becasue they just debit the supplier for shoddy merchandise, as well the store should.

I more annoyed about the Sox cap being two eighth-sizes too small. My hats, my helmets, everything is a 7-1/4. Even the 7-1/2 I got turns out to be too tight, so actually it's 3/8 too tiny as a regular cap, 2/8 too tiny if it's a true sports cap where you don't want it flying off while chasing fly balls. I think I got a better chance getting money back from Cornell than MLB.

[ithacat]

Zephyr is on Cornell's list of approved vendors. The Store is aware of the interest and looking at the vendor.

Cornell does limit the range of graphics and text available for the Store to use, so if you're looking for something truly extraordinary you'll probably need to go solo. For instance, I doubt the University would ever approve a H****** Sucks hat...actually, H****** would probably have to approve that one.

[Josh '99]

Bill,

Is your Sox hat from New Era?  I find they tend to shrink about an eight-size after some use.  A new 7 1/2 fits me but gets to be too small after a couple of months; a new 7 5/8 is loose but fits me perfectly after some wear.  Something you might want to consider.

[billhoward]

yes, one Sox cap is from New Era and it's always been tight. I don't want to wash it for fear it will shrink even more, but washing also fades the cap and then it will not look as if I bought the cap in the last two weeks. My faith in the Sox goes back a bir further and I'm still trying to get over the Sox losing Carlton Fisk to the White Sox.

I also have a second adjustable fit Sox cap, Twins Enterprise via Lightwear, Bellingham, WA, that has been modified with fiber optics outlining the B. Flip the switch, the thing lights up and blinks like the outline of a Ferris wheel. It was quite effective when I gave a lecture in Boston just as the Yankees were going 3-up on the Sox and the audience figured all us New York-based liberal elite pinko journalists and editors dooing the talk were also Yankee fans. The cap is good for a laugh and if you want shock value or garish or in your face, a blinking-outlined-letter cap doesn't come much better. The company can modify anyone's official hats. They ship a batch off to the PRC for fiber-optic stranding and they come back something like a month or two later. I don't know what the minimum quantity is; I believe for existing styles (eg major league sports teams) it's a 10- or 25-cap minimum. We paid either $50 per hat or $50 for two. The Sox cap we got were sourced through a Clarkson grad married to my old Cornell girlfriend who have found common ground at Fenway in summer if not Lake Placid or Albany in March.

Lightwear may be so big they may check with the team/school to make sure it's okay. On the other hand, I suppose at the least they'd be amenable to illuminating a generic red cap with a generic C on it, and outside of maybe the Colgate games, it'd be clear whose side you were on when you light the sucker off.

[A-19]

oh god, trademark infringement, don't remind me..