CLEVELAND - The International Collegiate Licensing Association (ICLA) is proud to announce the 2021 ICLA Service Award recipients, UConn and Logo Brands.

UConn's University-specific vendor code of conduct has moved the needle for all schools and licensees. Kyle Muncy's oversight of his own licensees as well as serving as a representative on multiple CSR Committees provides pathway for all licensing directors. Logo Brands shifted their focus to PPE when the pandemic hit and executed initiatives for their community and for the licensing industry. Their business acumen not only did good for others but allowed them to have a record sales year during a global pandemic.

"I'm happy UConn and Logo Brands are being acknowledged and recognized by their peers within the collegiate licensing industry." said current ICLA President and Director, Brand and Trademark Licensing at West Virginia University, Nikki Goodenow. "During a challenging year they found a way to give back and serve. Congratulations to both UConn and Logo Brands."

UConn

• UConn facemasks show the commitment to human rights along with public health. The production of these masks is an example of how UConn has established itself as one of the premier institutions in the country in the area of human rights and ethical sourcing. The facemasks were manufactured by Alta Gracia, the only verified living-wage brand in the developing world. The production of these masks were added in April 2020 and UConn has purchased nearly 110,000 masks to date.
• According to Colosseum, few universities approach human rights like UConn, especially in licensed goods supply chains, with stakeholder engagement and the creation of practical solutions and incentives for the university and its licensees.
  • This is especially true in a year that saw the consequences of COVID-19 have unprecedented negative impact on supply chains around the world, and UConn has stepped up to fight for the workers making its collegiate goods.
• UConn elevated the ethics of internal purchasing. They socialized students to the values of their university and a vehicle for demonstration in the wider community. Part of the 'way that UConn does business' is to educate in this manner.
• All internal apparel and promo product vendors are required to affiliate with the FLA and will be required to use FLA-affiliated suppliers beginning in January of 2022. This will provide UConn with the most stringent internal supplier guidelines for apparel and promo product giveaways in the country.
• UConn is preparing to work with the FLA on a Living Wage Pilot for 2021-22 in which multiple licensees and retailers will work to create its UConn product in different countries for the Fall of 2022 and pay workers a Living Wage. UConn will be the first school in the country to test this at retail.

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Logo Brands

• Service to the Team:
  • Named a top workplace in middle Tennessee in 5 out of the last 6 years.
  • Logo Brands has been influential in getting two young men out of jail and giving them a place to work and rehabilitate their lives. This includes writing letters to parole boards and being present in their court hearings. One of them is still employed by Logo Brands in a leadership role.
• Service to the Community:
  • In response to the pandemic and the difficulty of getting PPE into the country, a friend of the owners at Logo Brands who works in the medical industry asked them if they could help. A week later, Logo Brands was shipping their first PPE order to the US. Eventually, a new branch of the company, Logo Med, was formed. Logo Brands has assisted over 300 businesses including hospitals, clinics, and first responders. A few months later, licensed masks were offered to universities and organizations in the community. For university licensed mask orders, Logo Brands included an additional royalty (up to +8%) paid by them to donate to America's Food Fund on behalf of participating universities. The past three quarters, Logo Brands has donated $78,507 to America's Food Fund. In addition, Logo Brands has donated over $50,000 worth of masks to the community and universities.
  • Logo Brands is known for its Annual Warehouse sale that occurs in November of each year. Because of COVID, Logo Brands decided to move their sale from their warehouse to a retail store in the fall of 2020 to allow customers to continue this tradition and allow social distancing. They looked to the community for individuals to staff the store, in addition to offering special discounts to healthcare and military personnel. As in past years, VIP tickets were sold for the first day with all proceeds going to charities. Since 2011, Logo Brands has donated over $250,000.
• Service to the Licensing Industry:
  • Logo Brands established a Book Club for universities as a way to share information, share ideas and stay connected.
  • University Internship program – Logo Brands works with campus career centers to offer internships for students. Some of these students become employees at their company. Here is a link to a blog that one of the former interns, now current employee wrote.
  • Logo Brands operated a retail store in the fall of 2020 to allow customers to shop the annual warehouse sale and allow social distancing. They looked to the community for individuals to staff the store, in addition to offering special discounts to healthcare and military personnel.

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The ICLA Service Award recipients will be recognized during the 2022 Winter Symposium.

About the ICLA Service Award: The ICLA Service Award is presented to an individual, licensee, company, agency or institution that shows a dedication and commitment to the collegiate licensing process at either a local, regional, or national level. Recipients go above and beyond the call of duty to serve the collegiate licensing industry, their peers, customers and the community.

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 56^th year. For more information on NACDA and the 17 professional associations that fall under its umbrella, please visit www.nacda.com.