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Lawsuit hinges on name,
trademark of competition
AUTHENTIC from page 1
Department is funding Huskers
Authentic and will cause unfair com
petition for businesses.
“What market will (UNL) get into
next? At what point do you stop gov
ernment from competing in private
industry?” White asked.
But several UNL officials said
those arguments are invalid because
the Athletic Department is indepen
dent of the university and Huskers
Authentic will offer products in a dif
ferent price range than those in stores
such as Nebraska Spirit.
Business groups such as the
Nebraska Retail Federation and
Lincoln Independent Business
Association are also opposed to
Huskers Authentic.
Charlie Claus, executive vice
president of LIBA, sent a letter in
June to Chancellor James Moeser
expressing his concerns about
Huskers Authentic and its effect on
private industry.
In a return letter, Moeser said the
Athletic Department was indepen
dent of the university.
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the Athletic Department,
which will operate this facility,
receives no state funding, tuition or
student fees. Indeed, the University of
Nebraska receives over $ 1 million per
year from that department,” Moeser
wrote.
But White said the Athletic
Department would not exist without
the university, so he thinks of that
department as part of the university.
White has also sent letters to
Moeser, as well as Gov. Ben Nelson,
U.S. and state senators, the Lincoln
Chamber of Commerce and other
business groups.
“They’re treating UNL like a pri
vate school. A public school is com
pletely different; their goal is to aid
and to support, and business is not a
goal of university,” White said.
Huskers Authentic will be selling
Husker sportswear similar to, but not
the same as, merchandise sold in
other Lincoln businesses.
Gary Fouraker, associate athletic
director for business affairs at UNL,
said he had no knowledge about a
lawsuit concerning Huskers
Authentic.
Fouraker also said Huskers
Authentic will not really compete
with stores like Nebraska Spirit and
the Big Red Shop because the new
store will sell the “high-end types of
things.”
“Basically we will be selling stuff
that’s in the equipment room - stuff
coaches and players wear on the side
lines and during games,” Fouraker
said.
Everything from socks to caps to
sunglasses sported by Husker players
will be sold at Huskers Authentic,
Fouraker said.
But White disagrees.
He said though the store will not
sell the exact same merchandise, it
will be similar enough.
“A Husker T-shirt is a Husker T
shirt, mesh shorts are mesh shorts, so
essentially we are selling the same
product,” said White, who has owned
Nebraska Spirit for 13 years.
The closest thing to items sold at
stores like Nebraska Spirit, Fouraker
said, will be merchandise commemo
rating national championships, but
they will be different styles and
designs.
Fouraker said he did not know
why Huskers Authentic was being
singled out either.
“Other areas on campus that
would be argued as competition, such
as the University Bookstore and the
Nebraska Union, do not have opposi
tion,” Fouraker said.
Besides the lawsuit, White has
been working with state Sen. DiAnna
i
Schimek about a possible resolution.
“Right now it’s in the hands of the
(Legislature) and the citizens of
Nebraska,” White said.
Fouraker said Huskers Authentic
will have limits, which are detailed in
a “letter of agreement” the Athletic
Department has issued to a local
business about what the store can sell.
Loraine Livingston, manager of
Big Red Shop at 701 N. 10th St., said
her son and the store’s owner, Cliff
Livingston, is the one who entered
into the agreement with the universi
ty
In a letter he sent to the Board of
Regents in March, Livingston wrote
that his concerns about the opening
of Huskers Authentic had been satis
fied and he did not oppose the con
struction of the shop.
Some terms of the agreement are
that the Athletic Department will run
the store, the merchandise will be
authentic Husker goods and the uni
versity will not sublease the store,
Fouraker said.
The university probably could
have opened the store without an
agreement with the Big Red Shop,
Fouraker said, but the Athletic
uepanmenr am noi want an antago
nistic” relationship between the Big
Red Shop and the university.
But as long as the university
keeps its word, Livingston said, there
should not be any problems.
The decision to open Huskers
Authentic was based on a number of
factors, Fouraker said.
“I’ve seen other stadium shops in
Iowa and Florida and basically they
were the regular souvenir shops. We
are looking for an unique look and for
a different revenue stream,” Fouraker
said.
The Athletic Department also
gets many requests from people who
want merchandise that the players
and coaches are wearing, Fouraker
said.
The NU Board of Regents
approved the store 4-3 in February.
The building and equipment for
Huskers Authentic will cost $587,000
and is being paid for out of the athlet
ic operating budget. Fouraker said no
tax dollars would be used to pay for it.
Even though the Athletic
Department pays for a project that
could potentially cut into some of his
business, White said that it is not his
goal to hurt the Athletic Department.
“Not any of the business groups
are against the university and the
Athletic Department because our
success as a retailer of collegiate
products is directly related to their
success,” White said.
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