Here are your 2017 @VT_Football @vtsga Hokie Effect shirts. Available now at the bookstore! #Hokies #ThisIsHome pic.twitter.com/d2V3GqFvFg— VT Promotions (@VTPromos) April 11, 2017
Looks like they're available starting now! Looking sharp.
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Introducing the new SGA 2017 Maroon and Orange Effect Football T-shirts!
MAROON EFFECT
Saturday, September 30
vs. Clemson
"THIS IS HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE"
The front of the Maroon Effect short sleeve T-shirt is a modern update to the fan-favorite long sleeve Maroon Effect 2012 T-shirt, incorporating the new futuristic look of Virginia Tech Athletics.
The back of the Maroon Effect T-shirt features the football team's entrance into Lane Stadium, proving to Clemson that Virginia Tech is home of the 'Best College Football Entrance in the Country' with Enter Sandman, and it's not riding charter busses around your own stadium and running down a hill. The football player features the #ALLMAROONEVERYTHING uniforms, including Coach Frank Beamer's '25' number. 'THIS IS HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE' is a play on the very popular #ThisIsHome campaign the Virginia Tech Athletics Department is continuing into this fall. Finally, the stripes on both sides of the 'VT' logo represent the new stripes on the team's helmets.
ORANGE EFFECT
Saturday, October 21 (Homecoming)
vs. UNC
"BLACKSBURG BUILT"
The front of the Orange Effect long sleeve T-shirt is an orange version of the fan-favorite long sleeve Maroon Effect 2010 T-shirt, incorporating the new look of Virginia Tech Football's 125 Anniversary logo.
The back of the Orange Effect T-shirt features a vintage postcard look, since the program is celebrating its 125th Anniversary. The postmark's says 'OCTOBER 21 BLACKSBURG, VA' in honor of not only the date of the Orange Effect (and Homecoming) game, but also the very first VT football game in 1892, which was a 14-10 win vs. St. Albans. The stamp says 'DELIVERED RAIN OR SHINE', proving to UNC that the Hokies can always play and win, even in a hurricane by the score of 34-3. We're hoping the salty UNC fans love that pun! 'BLACKSBURG BUILT' is to represent the 125th Anniversary of Virginia Tech Football and to celebrate the Homecoming game. 'BLACKSBURG' is in the new 2016 font of the player's names on the jerseys. Finally, the 125 VT Football logo will be used throughout the season by the team on marketing materials, the jumbotron, and Lane to celebrate the 125th Anniversary.
Now available at the Official Virginia Tech Bookstores (and Lane HokieShop for the Spring Game) and their website: LINK
Thanks to all of you for your continued support!
More photos!
At the ACCCG, they did look quite silly running across an end zone while we jumped to Metallica.
Nice Post!
They look great!
I also like the "effect" font in the advertisement -- they need to use that on the shirts as well!
I like them. I like them a lot.
Wait, so no White Effect (yay)?
White effect is against Old Dominion this year. There
usuallyisn't always an actual effect shirt for those.Yes, there is. I'm on vacation now, and two of the shirts I packed are White Out shirts. They are usually the least expensive shirt to buy each season.
There wasn't one last year if I remember correctly. Two years ago there was a military appreciation shirt that just said "Hokies" in red, white, and blue. Just looked like a normal shirt. Maybe they're just advertised more as military appreciation than white effect now.
yea they have switched from the classic that was the tuxedo t-shirt to more Murica themed white out shirts
Damn. When I think of the white out game, I think of half-assed efforts against teams like Furman, Arkansas State, and Austin Peay. Not to mention what happened in 2010.
The world's saddest wet t-shirt contest?
maybe I am in the minority but I don't like them. I dislike the maroon less than the orange, but both seem unremarkable to me. Granted I am far removed from either attending these games or purchasing these shirts for said games.
Just wish they could come up with more contemporary graphic design and make these annual runs more unique and fresh.
And #allofthefontstyles ... not a fan, sadly.
Glad others seem to like them though
Ah, the life of an architect. I, too, seem to find myself unsatisfied with most of the graphic design I see, these shirts included. However, as a Blacksburg resident with tickets available for the games and in need for new (inexpensive) Tech shirts, I'll probably buy both.
truth. I suspect I would do the same
Respect the opinions and feedback! As a fifth year Architecture student here, I understand.
However, with the designs, the program and Athletics attempts to be as diverse as possible through the years not to become stale. Last year, the shirts complimented each other more using the same 'Gotham' font that Athletics has used for years on both shirts, with quite simplistic designs. The designs this year were based on the feedback received last year to cater to those who thought last year's were a bit too simple, incorporating the few looks Athletics has nowadays into a set a shirts.
If I were to bet, you'll probably see a more simplistic design in 2018 yet again. It's just part of the process as you're trying to sell dozens of thousands per shirt each season. Also, like the uniform selection, wordmark, ect., it's hard to please all the fans - especially those involved in professional design!
I take it from your tagline and posts you are involved in these.
First off, bravo. I don't mean to be disrespectful with my comments. Hopefully more constructive criticism. But if you have indeed helped to execute this apparel my hat goes off to you for your effort.
secondly, a few questions:
1) Why is "Virginia Tech" on the maroon shirt not in the newly branded font? that branding was bought and paid for and should be reinforced, no? It's made more mysterious with the trademark icon attached to that font.
2) How many fonts and font styles are too many? more an issue on the Orange shirt which has way too many IMO
3) Has there ever been a thought to drop the word "effect" altogether? How about just Orange and Maroon. Or can we come up with something clever to call these games. IDK, just never liked "effect" as it is too open ended. If we lose then did we "effect" ourselves?
4) Large screen print on Orange: Any debate on this in the design process? I like the reasoning about all the details you mentioned regarding the orange shirt but wow that is a big graphic. As vtcivengr notes below, these always felt uncomfortable to me and were a one time type of purchase. Plus I am more of a fan of minimalist prints that are either clever or unique. of course, as you noted, cannot please everyone all the time.
No offense taken. I've had some part in 13 of these during my time here for football and basketball so I've seen quite a few different parties wanting different styles on the shirts (SGA, Athletics Marketing, Licensing, Homecoming, ect.).
The "Virginia Tech" workmark cannot be used on any clothing or apparel unless it is Nike. Nike owns the rights to that font style since they created it, so you'll only see it on their merchandise. However, Athletics is allowed to use it in their graphics and on their marketing materials, but not on any products that would be for sale that Nike could sell themselves.
As far as the amount of fonts go, it was a lot as it was trying to recreate and look like the look Athletics uses in just about every marketing material nowadays. The '2017' on both shirts is the 2017 from the 125 Anniversary logo. The 'Gotham' font has been around the department since before the rebrand and finally the Akzidenz Berthold is what is used in the 125 Anniversary logo and the names on the back of the uniforms. Realistically, it was attempting to tie in all of the 125 logo features onto a vintage postcard. As I stated earlier, people complain when the shirts only have one font and the others complain when it's the other way around. On this particular shirt, those who prefer a more complex design are going to be the happy guys.
The Effect name began in 2002 as many of you all know, and is basically a brand around campus and HokieNation. While we've considered all sorts of other options, dropping the word would just make it any other Virginia Tech orange or maroon t-shirt. The Hokie Effect brand is expressed to students at Freshman Orientation and is something that even older alumni and fans know is a tradition and brand similar to Penn State's White Out or Notre Dame's 'The Shirt'.
Large screen print on the orange was for a better executed design. While working with so many parties such as SGA, VT Athletics Marketing, VT Licensing, Homecoming, and the T-shirt vendor, the designs are created in black and white and changed without color. The design didn't look nearly as good in the other versions we had with less color, as they looked very cartoonish like the back of the 2012 Orange Effect shirt while all the parties involved wanted a look similar to the 2011 Maroon Effect. We typically don't hear of many complaints with the large prints on the long sleeve t-shirts as they're worn during the cooler months. The t-shirt vendor we work with now too, compared to the one in the past, prints much lighter for less of a heavy feeling.
Enjoy the critiques though! Hope you enjoyed the simplicity of the 2017 Black and Maroon Out T-shirts!
Whoever came up with the "rain or shine" deal has earned a firm-ass handshake and a big-ass beer from your's truly. If we win that game it'll solidify it's spot as one of the best effect shirts ever imo. I wonder if these shirts get the ok from the department during the Hokies Respect era...love them.
What, did you do this?
I've been reading through all the old xkcd and came across this one. I almost edited my original post to also show the comic but you beat me to it. And yes, I do that all the time.
the 2011 Maroon effect shirt is the greatest of all time.
Wait a minute, so the new branding that VT paid for cannot be used by other VT organizations? Is that license to Nike in perpetuity? who the hell is negotiating these contracts? Paying for new branding you cannot license or extend out yourself is utterly worthless. Forget Nike, hire a branding firm, own the brand yourself and force Nike to use yours. Sheesh... That's ridiculously stupid and a complete waste of money.
Yeah I understand what you're saying about the Orange shirt. I think this is one of those things that has a lot of great ideas but likely all of those great ideas on one shirt expanded the graphic to a larger size than ideal. Just not my cup of tea. All designers are different, but not the style I do. No worries though.
Regarding the "effect" name. The White Out is classic, perhaps the pinnacle of this type of game atmosphere. It also has a great moniker. The issue I have with calling anything the "Effect" is that the definition is open ended. The White Out works because when opposing teams enter the stadium white is everywhere. It's name states what it is definitively. Calling something an "effect" means that it's causing something to happen and so if we lose, we essentially caused our own loss. I guess I am alone on that particular level of OCD. Would love to hear the other names that got thrown around but Effect just always seemed weak to me and not a brand for a game that I would remember.
Think of the classic game/match monikers including the great names for the historic rivalries. White Out, Holy War, Red River Shoot Out, Clean Old Fashioned Hate, Backyard Brawl, The Civil War, Border War.. hell even The Game. Somewhere we missed an opportunity to come up with some clever nicknames and settled on "effect". Maybe the Fall Brawl and the Maroon Massacre.
anyway, apologies for the ranting. Seriously though, someone needs to be fired for that shitshow Nike contract.
Nike did the rebranding of their own accord and Virginia Tech picked what they liked.
ugh... that's even worse. so we allowed another company to dictate our own branding and they are licensing it back to us. brilliant.
did Nike let the original artist of the swoosh control it and license to them? no. they paid for it and own it. now force it on everything.
we need to drop that nike work and own our brand outright. then dictate terms of its use ourselves, NOT the other way around.
that's unbelievablely dumb
"Virginia Tech picked what it liked."
My understanding is that Nike didn't dictate anything. They presented options to the school that they could go with if they wanted to.
Which makes this even worse, because we actively did this to ourselves. Beyond dumb. As in multi-million dollar dumb.
Any brand, especially a national brand, should own and control their brand outright. They should let Buzz negotiate the next contract because VT needs to wake the F up.
This made me curious so I quickly Googled it to see if there was information on the contract. Whit in an interview with Tech Sideline said:
"Nike, at no charge to us, they pick about four or five schools each year that are their schools, and they go in with what they call the Nike Graphic Identity Group — GIG. They come in and they pull all your uniforms, and they take pictures all over campus. And what's amazing is how, over time, there's creep away from your logo, the colors start to vary a little bit, one coach in one sport wants to use cursive, the other wants to use this, and before long all your consistency is gone.
So the Nike Graphic Identity Group comes back in, and they clean up your wordmarks, they get the colors back right, they changed our font to be more consistent ...Nike can give you some off the wall stuff too, and they can present that, but it's always up to the school to pick what we'll accept."
http://virginiatech.sportswar.com/free-content/2016/04/28/virginia-tech-...
I am curious if there is a way to find out the actual terms (maybe FOIA request) of the agreement. I would have expected Nike to have exclusivity for a certain period of time but not that they would own the font and license it to VT. I wonder if the other schools that had this done had the same terms. Seems like a very smart move by Nike.
it's a very smart move by Nike and utterly moronic by VT
Through Tech sideline I was able to find the contract:
http://archive.techsideline.com/2016/VT_Nike_contract_old.pdf
If you look at page 14 (14. DEVELOPMENT OF NEW LOGO & TRADEMARK OWNERSHIP)
It essentially says that if Nike develops any additional trademark, service mark, symbol and/or logographic then the University owns it but Nike has "the exclusive right to sell products bearing the New Logo" for one "Contract Year" (which is July 1 through June 30).
That year should be up up by June 30 at which point VT can license that font/logo to third parties.
Of course this all assumes that some new agreement wasn't signed for the rebrand (I doubt Whit would negotiate and sign a new contract that was materially worse for VT as to the logo/font).
Thats a lot better and a lot more reasonable than what was originally said.
So if the deal was that as long as we allowed Nike to have 1 year of exclusive use Nike would essentially complete our re-brand for free, that's a really good and savvy deal for us. Would not surprise me if that was the reason that the fonts on the padding in Lane and the scoreboards in Lane and Cassell had yet to convert, and that we could see that quietly update this summer.
I like it, if true
you sir, deserve a turkey leg. thanks for researching what I was too busy (read lazy) to do.
apologies for the rant.
Six family members of mine have studied architecture at VT. As a communications major, this is how I feel at Thanksgiving...
That you, Vandelay?
I have to say that these are probably the best Effects shirts I've seen in several years. Great job!!
Agreed! They're definitely a bit simpler than most of the ones I've purchased these last few years. Love 'em.
I like them but is it bad that I think the graphic in the tweet would have made a better t shirt? Overall my only complaint with the effect shirts is that when the screen print area is extensive, the shirt is less comfortable and tends to have that weird smell (looks to be true of the orange).
Yes, there is a White Effect-Military Appreciation T-shirt this year as well with a front only design and being sold at $8.00.
Interesting choice to put Marcus on the Whiteout shirt. Guess he was seen stealing some flags and running recently? /s
I believe that is a 25, not 5
Well that's my bad then! I wasn't expecting them to put Beamer's number on Marcus.
i legit LOLed in the middle of my class. take a leg sir.
Even it it was 5 and not 25, it'd be Tyrod, not Marcus...
Nah I'm pretty sure it's Marcus
Sharp looking shirts, will probably be the first I'll buy since I was a student. Love the subtle digs at the opponents as well.
As someone who lives in Raleigh and went to that game at UNC last year....
Yeah, I think I might have to buy some Effect shirts this year...
I dig the maroon effect one. The others are not my cup of tea.
I like these much, much better than last year's shirts that I skipped out on buying altogether. Even though I'm graduating in a month, I'll probably still have to cop both of these.
Still waiting for my "FOSTERS: HOKIE FOR DEFENSE" Shirt that I coined for the very first time back in 2003 and no one else in the history of mankind had ever thought about prior to that.
Unfortunately, I doubt we'll ever be able to do direct names and references again with how strict licensing and branding has evolved since the Effect program's early days. That's why I was thrilled to do "DELIVERED RAIN OR SHINE" as that's about as direct as we can with opponents these days without causing chaos.
Love the whiteout shirts. 'Merica and Hokies, all it needs now is an apple pie on the back.
I'm very anti-whiteout for reasons laid out in another thread. I wouldn't want someone else doing "Metallica Entrance day"
Hold on. Did Bunk go to Tech?
doubtful
Assumed with the username/pic combo
Just imagine it, though... PSU, all in black shirts, and then the team comes out to.... THIS:
Best Maroon Effect Shirt Since:
The audible shirt was also pretty awesome.
That's my favorite one
Mine too!
Haha seriously. Too bad mine is 2 sizes too small now...
yeah, a lot of my t-shirts from college have had this nasty habit of shrinking on me. I blame low quality manufacturers.
They just don't make clothes like they used to.
I wish we could see all of the designs together somewhere. Some have been classic that I still wear in my day to day wardrobe. Others I did not purchase because they were kind of....hoakey.
actually, every design is framed and displayed at the second floor of Squires. when i graduated ('12), they ran out of space so i don't know where they put the following years. any current students want to chime in?
i only know this because a friend won the slogan contest for one of the effects and when he stayed with me as an alum, one of the first things he wanted to do was find his shirt on that wall. it was cool seeing the evolution of slogans/designs throughout the years...
I remember them doing that for awhile in Squires, but then I also remember them getting moved and I never found out where they went and lost interest.
Best effect shirt ever. Period. End of Story!
Never understood that shirt. Who were we trying to talk smack to with the Benz part?
It was just part of the Beamer/car analogy joke. I thought it was a nice little car pun and it was so much better than the failure that was the 2004 orange effect shirt that it is still held in high esteem.
At the time Cadillac Williams was a RB at Auburn the year before when we played them in the sugar bowl. "Who needs a Cadillac when you have a Beamer" was a big hit as a sign at the game. Someone tried to resurrect it as an orange effect shirt the following fall but the original made more sense.
I stand corrected.
My comment about the 2004 shirt still stands.
I had hoped Beamer would still be coaching when we played at Notre Dame if only so we could pull out "Who needs (south) BENZ when you've got a BEAMER" but alas...
Is there any way to get these shirts online?
http://www.bookstore.vt.edu/ePOS?this_category=950&store=109&form=shared...