Game-worn Arizona football jerseys get 2nd life in apparel made by students

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) - A new class at the University of Arizona is taking old football jerseys and transforming them into clothes and other items.

The class is through the university’s fashion school. It’s something that has been in the works for a couple of years, but now some results are coming in.

There are thousands of jerseys that sit in a warehouse in Tucson when athletes at the UA are finished with them.

It starts with an idea and a jersey. Then the students design a product that gets shipped to a manufacturer in Los Angeles. If the manufacturer likes it then it gets made into an actual product.

Things like hoodies, bags, and jackets are just some of the examples that students have been making.

School officials say it’s a great way for students to not just design something, but also work directly with a manufacturer to see their product get completed.

“These are not elves that come out every night and make the garments. This is not Cinderella; we don’t have a fairy godmother,” said Elizabeth Heuisler, assistant professor of practice at the UA Fashion Industry Science and Technology School. “It’s a process, it needs to be thought out very carefully because it’s expensive to make things and you can’t afford to make mistakes along the way. So everything has to be documented. So they do the whole process.”

This fall, students will be at games selling their products. And since the jerseys used are actually game-worn they’re very limited so be on the lookout for them at Arizona football games.

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