To communication studies student, Ian Stone, Head Coach Tees is more than a t-shirt. Driven by the motto of “bridging the gap between supporting your coach, on and off the field”, Head Coach Tees offers a unique opportunity for fans to represent their favorite teams in something other than a jersey. Ian Stone, a Birmingham native and UA senior, embarked on an entrepreneurial journey to combine his expertise in communication, his connections with graphic designers and his love for football in a meaningful and tangible way. Head Coach Tees offers quality t-shirts that depict the profiles of college football coaches. The shirts do not have any logos or brands on them therefore Head Coach Tees has a direct relationship and agreement with each coach. The best part? Head Coach Tees donates 10% of every sale to the coach’s foundation of choice.
“We love the idea of supporting coaches and supporting what they believe in,” said Stone, “A lot of people don’t see that side of coaches and Head Coach Tees allows the fan base to create that relationship with the coach.”
More recently, Head Coach Tees gained national recognition on Fox Sports. Matt Leinart, former football quarterback and current studio analyst, held up and displayed the Lane Kiffin shirt during the halftime report. He said, “You gotta get yourself one of these shirts!” Fox Sports even showed the shirts again during their post-game report. Head Coach Tees sold over 80 Lane Kiffin shirts at a local Boca Raton apparel shop within the first day. Stone attributed this media placement and success to a previous personal meeting he had with Lane Kiffin a few months before in Boca Raton, Florida.
“We took a picture of Lane Kiffin in our shirt at the meeting, and he invited us to the team’s scrimmage that next day,” said Stone, “Kiffin told us to mail our shirts to Matt Leinart that day.”
Head Coach Tees’s internal team consists of three students – Ian Stone, Matt Lewis and Drake Grisham – each with backgrounds in various fields: nuclear engineering, marketing and communications. Stone heads up all internal and external communication channels for Head Coach Tees and is grateful for the input from his professors and mentors within C&IS. When writing Head Coach Tees’s business pitch, Stone sought out the help from professor and assistant director of Public Speaking, Dr. Adam Brooks.
“Dr. Brooks has been a mentor since the beginning of it all,” said Stone, “I’ve never had a teacher believe in me like Dr. Brooks, and he saw something in this project and in me.”
For almost a year now, Head Coach Tees sells t-shirts to sports fans and plans on expanding their designs to the entire SEC and beyond. They currently are in the process of creating and brokering deals with SEC coaches and NFL players. Their ultimate goal? Getting Nick Saban on a shirt.
To learn more about Head Coach Tees or buy a shirt, visit their website. You can also help support this company by following Head Coach Tees on Instagram or Twitter.
