BROOKINGS, SD (Oct. 12, 2020) – With the opening of pheasant season set to kick off Saturday, South Dakota State University, in conjunction with its trademark licensing agent, CLC, is introducing a specially designed, university-branded “Pheasant State” merchandise collection that pays homage to the state’s popular sport.

The university worked with the creative team at CLC to develop a unique set of logos and graphics for the collection that features a pheasant in its natural habitat alongside the popular interlocking SD logo. The Pheasant State logo and associated marks will be prominently featured on select apparel and nonapparel merchandise for South Dakota State fans, as well as hunters and those that love the outdoors.

The state of South Dakota ranks as the No. 1 place in the country for pheasant hunting by most hunting magazines and websites, often attracting hundreds of thousands of hunters daily during peak season.

“Pheasant hunting is engrained in the culture of the state of South Dakota, and our university plays a leadership role through our renowned wildlife and agriculture studies program as well as other areas,” said Derek Peterson, SDSU’s assistant vice president for finance and administration. “The Pheasant State collection is a natural way to connect the university to this distinctive attribute of our state while also creating an opportunity to introduce our brand to the thousands of hunters that visit our state each hunting season.”

In addition to new logos and branding, the Pheasant State collection also includes Mossy Oak and Realtree patterns to ensure functionality along with style. The specially curated merchandise includes products from best-in-class licensees such as Colosseum, L2 for Legacy Headwear, Blue 84, Orca, WinCraft and All-Star Dogs.

“Our mission is to help elevate the South Dakota State brand through innovative product and marketing programs, and we are excited to help deliver the Pheasant State merchandise collection to fans and visitors alike,” said Ben Emmons, CLC’s vice president of marketing. “This unique program will help connect the university to new consumers while aligning the South Dakota State brand with a favorite pastime for many.”

Pheasant State merchandise is available now at the South Dakota State Bookstore, Scheels, Fleet Farm and other participating retailers.

About South Dakota State

Founded in 1881, South Dakota State University is the state’s Morrill Act land-grant institution as well as its largest, most comprehensive school of higher education. SDSU confers degrees from seven different colleges representing more than 200 majors, minors and specializations. The institution also offers 36 master’s degree programs, 15 Ph.D. and two professional programs.

The work of the university is carried out on a residential campus in Brookings, at sites in Sioux Falls, Pierre and Rapid City, and through Extension offices and Agricultural Experiment Station research sites across the state. SDSU’s research expenditures for the 2018 fiscal year were more than $60 million.

For more information on this release, please contact:

Mike Lockrem, South Dakota State University, 605-695-0406 or michael.lockrem@sdstate.edu 

Tammy Purves, CLC, 770-799-3275 or tammy.purves@clc.com