The campaign has sold more than 90 percent of its inventory so far this year.
About 50 students have been working since July to prepare for an Oct. 17 football game and raise money for graduate students — with T-shirts.
Bobcat Blackout is a campaign to raise money for scholarships and graduate assistantships for the Ohio University sports administration master’s program.
The master's program prepares students for leadership positions in the sports industry and offers a two-year dual-degree program to earn a master’s in business administration and another in sports administration.
The campaign sells long-sleeved T-shirts for $20 that come with various promotions, including a free night at the Baymont Inn and a free round of golf and cart at the OU Golf Course.
Harrison McIntire, a first-year graduate student of the two-year program, and member of the marketing committee for Bobcat Blackout, said the group has sold more than 90 percent of its inventory.
“(Being a graduate assistant) is a massive saver for me,” McIntire said. “A big thing that has allowed (graduate students) to pursue that education is the fact that they can have a scholarship or graduate assistantship.”
{{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="efef97e4-6df4-11e5-9b7b-1b9532c6eb2c"}}
The main event will be Oct. 17 at Peden Stadium for a football game against Western Michigan University, but there are events for field hockey, soccer and volleyball as well.
This semester marks the fifth year of Bobcat Blackout, and McIntire said awareness for the campaign has grown rapidly each year.
This year, Bobcat Blackout not only created a “more insanely cool” logo, it changed the campaign's shirt as well, McIntire said.
McIntire said the director of the program wanted a shirt people can “wear on Court Street on Friday night.”
“The new shirts are a big change to say the least, and I think it’s helped us,” McIntire said.
William Fife, a junior studying sports management, said he thinks the shirts are definitely better this year.
"I think definitely the shirts are a lot better, but the logo could still improve," Fife said.
Matt Wipper, a sophomore studying finance, said with the benefits that come along with the shirt, it’s pretty much free.
“I bought the shirt, got the whole package,” Wipper said. “With everything included, something has to be free in there.”
Dani Lukes, a sophomore studying pre-medicine, said she wasn’t even aware of the program last year.
“I see the shirts everywhere now,” Lukes said. “The design is really cool.”
Karly Siegel, a sophomore studying retail merchandising, said the premise of the program is admirable.
“With (my friend) going to med school, I’d want to support someone else going to grad school,” Siegel said.
McIntire said being part of the committee to run Bobcat Blackout is very valuable. The campaign provides the students involved with real-world experience as opposed to the traditional classroom experience, he said.
“It’s a great way for us to raise funds and showcase who we are, not just to OU, but the world,” McIntire said.
@kaitfoch
kf992915@ohio.edu
