CLEVELAND – The International Collegiate Licensing Association (ICLA) announced at the 2025 ICLA Desert Cactus Winter Symposium that Texas A&M University is the winner of this year's ICLA Synergy Award, presented by 4imprint. The three subcategory winners, University of Washington (Campus Collaboration/Impact), University of Louisiana at Lafayette (External Collaboration/Impact/Commitment to Licensing), and University of California, Davis (Innovation/Vision), were also recognized.

ICLA Synergy Award – Texas A&M University

The ICLA Synergy Award is the ICLA program of the year. The 2023-24 winner, Texas A&M University, achieved a tremendous level of success during the 2023-24 fiscal year. Texas A&M has a great team in place working on elevating their brand through various licensing initiatives.  The team consists of Shane Hinckley (Chief Business Development Officer), Kyle Pope (Executive Director, Collegiate Licensing & Business Development), Tierra Graves (Program Director), Scott Oswald (Manager, Collegiate Licensing & Business Development), and Koy Moser (Coordinator, Collegiate Licensing & Business Development).
 
Texas A&M's licensing program had several accomplishments during the 2023-2024 fiscal year. Texas A&M credits much of their success to their partnerships with Fanatics (on multiple fronts), Unrivaled Teamwear, and Logo Brands as well as the strategic planning and implementation of initiatives with its licensing agency, CLC.  
 
At the beginning of the fiscal year, Texas A&M worked with Champion, CLC, and their bookstore to create an in-store brand destination called Champion Station.  They unveiled Champion Station to the public with a brand activation at the beginning of the semester that encouraged people to buy Champion merchandise in the bookstore.  This activation, along with the execution of a social and digital media strategy, led to a 242% increase in the sales of Champion merchandise in the bookstore during the fall of 2023.  
 
Later in the year, Texas A&M worked extensively with CLC to release different marks and logos into the marketplace.  Texas A&M and CLC went through the university's archives and decided to add eight logos to the College Vault program.  They also decided to use vintage logos, and even some of the actual product designs seen in historical pictures, to create a collection to complement the 50^th anniversary of women's athletics at Texas A&M.  
 
In the Spring of 2024, Texas A&M and CLC created a baseball version of the popular university character Ol' Sarge.  The new logo was launched during the best baseball season in school history and was an immediate success.  Sales from the weekend series of the launch were the highest of the season and a 61% increase over the second-best weekend series.
 
All of these initiatives had an e-commerce component, since driving people to the Texas A&M's team store, which is operated by Fanatics, is one of Texas A&M's primary objectives.  As a result, sales of Texas A&M merchandise through Fanatics increased 25% during the fiscal year.
 
Campus Collaboration/Impact Subcategory – University of Washington
 
The University of Washington's (UW) trademarks and licensing team actively participates in campus initiatives and events in meaningful ways. When the university learned that MGM Studios had acquired the rights to adapt the "The Boys in the Boat" book into a movie, the T&L team quickly engaged with the university's brand and creative teams to create "The Crew" collection—a celebration of UW's 1936 Olympic gold-medal-winning rowing team. This special collection of merchandise would unite fans of the story, supporters of Washington rowing, and the broader UW community. The T&L team spearheaded a full-page ad in UW's alumni magazine and a 30-second radio spot that aired during football and basketball games to help promote the collection.
 
Other notable collaborations include ESPN's College GameDay visit to the Seattle campus. The team distributed branded banners, signs, and thousands of shirts to enthusiastic fans to showcase the university's excellence. Responding to internal requests to support businesses that align with university values, the T&L team connected with campus licensees to assess their sourcing processes and provide guidance on how to purchase UW-branded products from women-, minority-, and veteran-owned vendors, as well as those who prioritize sustainability. Additionally, the team collaborated with course instructors to create and deliver educational content focused on brand protection and expansion, offering insights and tools that students can apply in real-world scenarios.
 


External Collaboration/Impact/Commitment to Licensing Subcategory– University of Louisiana at Lafayette
 
In celebration of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette's 125th anniversary, the trademark licensing program launched the Vintage Louisiana collection—a retro-themed line of apparel and non-apparel items. Vintage Louisiana honors the university's historical monikers and mascots, showcasing marks spanning from 1920 to 1999.
 
After years of requests and extensive archival research, eleven marks were released from the vault. The highly anticipated collection debuted during Homecoming week, quickly becoming a success and prompting the addition of baseball and softball marks in the Spring. Vintage Louisiana significantly boosted the university's licensing program, leading to a 17% increase in royalties and a 13% rise in sales for fiscal year 2024.
 
Communications and Marketing, along with CLC, developed a cohesive marketing strategy that included a collection website, social media content, and local media promotions. Licensees and retailers played a crucial role in experiential marketing to drive sales. Bookstore partner Barnes & Noble allocated permanent retail space for the collection and hosted a pop-up shop that doubled game-day sales compared to the previous year. Athletics outfitted student-athletes, spirit squads, coaches, and staff in Vintage Louisiana gear throughout Homecoming week, while also coordinating marketing efforts around a retro-themed game featuring the return of a special throwback jersey.
 
These extensive collaborative efforts resulted in a successful launch, marked by record sales and positive engagement from the community. Vintage Louisiana continues to honor the past while laying the foundation for future partnerships and revenue generation.
 
Innovation/Vision Subcategory – University of California, Davis
 
In 2023, the Trademarks Licensing at the University of California, Davis shifted its strategic focus from the traditional collegiate sports model and leaned into its strengths as a university, such as in research, food & agriculture and veterinary medicine. In 2024, the arts had its moment in the sun. For over six decades, the art department at UC Davis has launched the careers of many iconic artists. Among them were Wayne Thiebaud, Roy De Forest, William Wiley… and Robert Arneson, whose long tenure and short life culminated in the Egghead series of sculptures. They became beloved unofficial mascots on campus, rubbed for good luck before exams and featured in countless graduation photos. Celebrating their 30th anniversary, the "Year of the Eggheads" campaign and retail collection launched in April 2024 and was one of the biggest and most ambitious branding projects ever undertaken at UC Davis.
 
The Arneson Egghead Collection, designed by UC Davis, launched across bookstore locations, online venues and pop-up shops. Resulting in over $150,000 dollars in retail sales, and $27,000 dollars in royalties. Across all channels the campaign generated over 2.5 million impressions across the three months of the launch. Leveraging the Eggheads campaign, Development and Alumni Relations raised $4.1 million, the highest amount raised in the history of Give Day. Later, philanthropist Maria Manetti Shrem pledged more than $20 million to fund arts programs at UC Davis, the largest donation in university history. Beyond merchandise, the campaign integrated a rich series of events, exhibits, activations and web experiences throughout the "Year," including a VIP launch event for the 30-minute documentary Unexpected Legends: Arneson, Eggheads and Arts, distributed by KVIE public television and available for streaming at PBS.org.

About ICLA: ICLA provides educational and networking opportunities, enhancement of acceptable operating standards and ethics, and establishment of the overall prestige and understanding of the profession of collegiate licensing. For more information on ICLA, please visit www.iclanet.com. ICLA is administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), which is in its 60th year. For more information on NACDA and the 19 professional associations that fall under its umbrella, please visit www.nacda.com.