Princeton – It’s Lonely at the Top
It only makes sense to start Ivysport’s blog with the t-shirt that launched the company. Back in 1988, I was a sophomore at Princeton University and a “work-study” student – meaning I needed a campus job to help pay my tuition. I was issued the job of working at “DFS” (the Division of Food Services) in Forbes College, which meant after attending classes and football practice all week I had to wake up at 6AM to make eggs and omelets to hung-over fellow students as they meandered into the dining all. It took about four weeks on the job to realize (and to quote Donny Deutsch) “there had to be a better way”.
I had always been interested in the camaraderie and competition shared by the eight Ivy League schools, particularly as I made my way to the other campuses while playing football for Princeton. You could by a Princeton t-shirt, or Harvard t-shirt, or even a Yale sweatshirt, but you could not buy anything that featured all eight Ivy League schools on one item. I began sketching what would become my concept for “It’s Lonely at the Top”, which featured one Ivy school crest on top of the crests of the other Ivy League schools. Thus began my career as an entrepreneur.
I printed up a batch of shirts and began selling them to students at Princeton’s residential colleges. I would knock on a door, show them the shirt, and walk away with $15 bucks in my pocket. This was way better than flipping eggs! It was only a matter of time before my now competitor, the Princeton U-Store, came calling and requested to sell “It’s Lonely at the Top” in their bookstore. Later, all eight Ivy League schools would request their own version to sell at their bookstore. To this day – 22 years later – we still receive orders, compliments, and raves about this original shirt.
Personally, after Princeton I went on to explore investment banking, consulting, working in entertainment (HBO and EMI Music), and technology, yet at the end of the day I came back to Ivy League apparel and started what today is Ivysport – the largest provider of Ivy League apparel on the planet!
Tagged with: Forbes • Harvard • Ivy League • Ivysport • Princeton • schools • Yale
Filed under: Harvard • Ivy League • Ivysport • Princeton • Videos • Yale
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Hey Ron,
Apologies, the LAT shirts are discontinued.
John
Penn?
where can i get an ‘It’s Lonely at the Top” shirt today?
Hello Cynthia,
Unfortunately the Yale “LAT” shirts are discontinued. Yale’s licensing had an issue w/ their art on the shirts? But yes the LAT were great. They’re basically the first shirt that started Ivysport. There are a few schools left on the site and once those are sold out they won’t be produced anymore.
Take care and best regards,
John
I’m trying to purchase a Yale version of “It’s Lonely at the Top” in a Mens’ Large. How can I get one, please?
(It’s for our third son — his older brother’s both have the Harvard version, and he is dying to wear his school’s …)
Thank you,
Cynthia Blumenthal
Hey Dave…thanks for the kinds words. Our team has been working hard for nearly 8 years now on Ivysport in partnership with the Ivy League. We wanted to the “Established” shirt for all the Ivies, including Princeton, but their licensing office had an issue with using 1746 in the style of this shirt…no idea why!
Really like what you do for the Ivy League. Also like the new shirt with the Founding year on the front. Any chance we will see one with Princeton 1746 on front. Thanks again.
Hey John,
The producers of this film have been in editing and securing archival footage for longer than expected. We have been told it will be released before the end of this year. We’re getting anxious ourselves!
Eric
When will you start selling the “League” video, the history of Ivy Football ?