NCAA Football

Gophers Stopping Victoria's Secret Attempt to Sell Gopher Stuff

Posted Jun 25, 2008 9:05PM By Bruce Ciskie (RSS feed)

Filed Under: Minnesota Football, Big 10, NCAA FB Fans, Minnesota

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(Gratuitous Gisele photo to the right. You're welcome.)

Victoria's Secret is a place where you can buy ... well, you probably already know. No need for an explanation.

On their website, you will find section that leads you to the PINK Collegiate Collection. On that page, there is a list of 33 colleges who have licensed apparel available.

Among the list of 33 is the University of Minnesota. However, someone at the school has apparently decided that it's not a good place for Gopher gear to be sold.

Seriously.
"We are not making a judgment in regards to Victoria's Secret," said University spokesman Dan Wolter. "We just don't feel it is in our institution's best interest right now."

Wolter said there was not enough discussion about how the company's image could affect the University's reputation and that upon review, "it was simply determined we should opt out of it."
It's not like we're talking about Gopher lingerie. Victoria's Secret has a shirt, sweats, a hoody, and a tote bag (read: purse) available. Perhaps the university was offended by the prices. The tote bag alone runs $24.50. Yikes.

I don't know what the problem is. It's not like the stuff in the PINK collection is at all explicit, and I'm curious why the university thinks this is any kind of image issue. Frankly, the women's tank top that the university sells in their online store, Goldy's Locker Room, shows more skin than anything Victoria's Secret is selling with Goldy Gopher on it.

Evidently, Victoria's Secret hasn't gotten the message. Either that, or they don't care. As of this writing, the Gophers gear was still available through their website.

Illinois, Michigan, Penn State, and Wisconsin were the only other Big Ten schools listed. Oddly enough, none of them have asked to be removed. Meanwhile, Ohio State fans are boycotting this fine corporation over their exclusion*.

In case you're wondering how this happened, Victoria's Secret got the okay from the Collegiate Licensing Bureau, and did not have to deal directly with the schools to start this collection. The school has asked the bureau to be taken off the website.
(* - That sentence might not be true.)

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