Notre Dame unveils 'The Shirt' for 2022 football season
With 134 days until kickoff in Columbus, Notre Dame fans can start gearing up for the season with this year’s version of “The Shirt.”
The decades old Irish tradition is back for its 32nd year. This year’s ceremony took place in the Hammes Bookstore on Friday afternoon. It was the first in-person unveiling in two years, and Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman was in attendance for the release.
The 2022 version is navy, the ninth time it has been so. The front says “Notre Dame Football” in gold with a football and “2022,” while the back says “Sing her glory & sound her fame. Rah! Rah! For Notre Dame.” There is a pair of football players on the back, and one of them is No. 50, along with a male and female cheerleader.
History of ‘The Shirt’
The project began in 1990 as a way to raise money for student activities, and 9,000 shirts were sold, raising $17,000 in its inaugural year. The Shirt was so popular that it returned the following year, and the revenue was more than the Student Union Board needed. As a result, The Shirt became its own organization and money is now distributed across multiple student organizations. Notre Dame has been able to the keep the student activities fee at the same amount since 2004 as a result of proceeds from the organization.
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The shirts have come in a number of colors, with various coaches, players, pennants and slogans across the front and back. Dozens of designs are created before the final product is decided upon. Blue and green are the most common colors, and the only time The Shirt has been the same color for multiple years in a row was when it was green from 2002-04.
Other proceeds from the cause have gone to charitable causes, including helping a student who was paralyzed in 1993 and establishing scholarships for two former Irish swimmers, Meghan Beeler and Colleen Hipp, who died in a bus accident in 1992.
It has become a regular occurrence to have more than 150,000 shirts sold each year. According to The Shirt website, the most popular shirt was a 2011 Four Horsemen design that sold 165,000 shirts.
