South Carolina women's basketball: The story behind the "shirzees"

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When the South Carolina women’s basketball team took the court in Greensboro Friday the crowd was overwhelmingly pro-Gamecock. And scattered throughout were thousands of fans wearing ”shirzees,” t-shirts designed like replica jerseys, complete with player names and numbers.

Until this season, such items were illegal. But through a first of its kind agreement with Under Armour, “shirzees” for the entire team were sold. The contract between Under Armour and South Carolina runs through 2026, but the shirzees required 16 separate and individual agreements with players to make it happen.

The seeds for the agreement were sowed in the preseason when Dawn Staley met with the team to discuss the new world of NIL. Staley asked players if they wanted help finding an agent to help with NIL deals. Some said yes, some said no. Staley said it was an “exhausting” week helping everyone find representation, and then the focus turned entirely to basketball.

“I didn’t want it to be a distraction as we play games as we got into our season,” Staley said. “So I think they picked great agents. It hasn’t been a distraction. We’re in a good place with them. I do think some of our players are making pretty good money while still performing at a high level.”

Aliyah Boston and Zia Cooke both signed with agents. Boston has endorsed Bose headphones and Cooke has a deal with H&R BlockDestanni Henderson was able to begin marketing her “Hennything’s Possible” clothing line for profit. That had been the most visible venture, with even Staley wearing a Hennything’s Possible sweatshirt.

“It’s pretty hard and she’s done a great job,” Boston said. “You see people around town wearing her clothes and you see her going to FedEx to ship the clothes off. It’s just exciting because she’s able to — she’s making money off of something that she enjoys and something that she’s passionate about, so I’m just really happy for her.”

“A fun fact for me about her process is that she started it before NIL. Not getting paid for it. She was just doing that foundation for herself because she knew at some point she will be able to sell her clothes,” Cooke said. “I think that’s just a Wonder Woman move right there, to be able to start your business just because you know one day you will be able to attack it and go ahead and sell your clothes.”

But none of that can match the visibility of or excitement surrounding the shirzees. Boston’s stock sold out within hours. Cooke, Henderson, and Beal sold out soon after. And, because that’s what social media is for, by lunchtime Twitter was filled with complaints from people who wanted more and players were hawking remaining shirzees on Instagram. Even with the complaints, it seemed like a successful project.

Under Armour’s perspective

I wanted to get Under Armour’s perspective, and Charece Williams Gee, UA Senior Director & Head of Americas Sports Marketing, was kind enough to discuss a range of topics related to the shirzees and the relationship between under Armour, South Carolina, and the athletes.

The announcement about the shirzees said this was one of the first deals of its kind. Does Under Armour have agreements with any other programs to use player NIL, and why was South Carolina women’s basketball a priority for Under Armour? Other Under Armour schools, men and women, are in the NCAA Tournament. 

Under Armour has long-standing history of working with athletes both on and off the court and we are proud to support all our collegiate teams whose hard work and dedication led them to the NCAA Tournament. This partnership with the women of the SC basketball team demonstrates the power of a seven-time national attendance leading fanbase and the desire to give those fans a new way to support these amazing female athletes that was not previously offered. 

Under Armour has invested heavily in women’s sports, especially basketball. Why is that a priority?

Under Armour exists to make athletes better and empower those who strive for more. Everyone deserves the right to engage in sport and female athletes face barriers on their journey to compete that often times are too challenging to overcome on their own. As a part of our Access to Sport commitment, we are dedicated to finding more ways to create equal opportunities and representation for women in sports. 

Everyone is still figuring out NIL. Is there a specific reason UA wasn’t able to make the shirzees earlier in the season or was it a matter of figuring out the new order of things?

The decision to collaborate on hybrid shirzees instead of traditional replica jerseys allowed for SC student-athletes to share this offering with their fans ahead of the NCAA Tournament.

At least based on social media, some of the people most excited about the shirzees aren’t necessarily Gamecock fans, but people from players’ hometowns who want to represent the “hometown girl.” Did UA anticipate appeal beyond the hardcore fans?

We know there is a huge opportunity to give fans of female athletes new and exciting ways to cheer on their favorites, whether it be at a game or from home. That’s why we are so thrilled to have been able to work with the athletes of the SC women’s basketball team in this way and to prove there is a need for more equal representation. 

How many shirzees were produced? Some of them sold out in a few hours.

We were ecstatic to see how quickly Gamecock fans flocked to our site to purchase the shirzees. While we knew their fanbase was large, we didn’t anticipate how fast they would sell out and are working to restock as we speak!

Did UA anticipate the fan response? Some people stayed up all night waiting for the shirzees to go live. Did UA expect to sell out of several?

Surprised that fans wanted to support this team? Not at all. How quickly they would buy these shirzees (within hours), was a pleasant surprise! They went on sale on a Tuesday and we saw fans wearing them Friday during the Round 1 game.  In fact, one fan we spoke with said she paid rush shipping just to make sure she could rep her favorite player on game day.

What has the feedback been like from customers and what is the response at UA? 

Gamecock fans have been overjoyed to have this new way to support the women’s basketball team and the athletes themselves have felt empowered by seeing the level of excitement the community is showing them. For Under Armour, this is another way of demonstrating our core values of Standing for Equality and Loving Athletes. 

Will shirzees/jerseys be available for other South Carolina programs in the near future? Could there be football or baseball jerseys?

We’re excited about the response we’ve received to-date and are looking at ways to expand this offering in the future.

And the big question from Gamecock fans: When will more shirzees be available?

We are working to restock now and are hoping to have more shirzees available soon!