After creating a scholarship in Rob Edson’s honor and placing his initials on the Carrier Dome field, the Syracuse University community has found another way to commemorate the former athletic director’s life.

Michael Tricarico, a freshman broadcast and digital journalism major, created the shirt because of the effect Edson had on both the Onondaga Community College and SU communities. Sales from the shirts will benefit the Rob Edson Scholarship Fund, Tricarico said. The scholarship is designed to help former athletes who are returning to SU to complete their degrees.

Tricarico said he came up with the idea for the “Rise Up for Rob” T-shirts after being inspired by a Twitter hashtag, which many students wore during Saturday’s football game against Tulane University.

“I personally didn’t know Rob Edson,” Tricarico said, “but I did hear a lot from members of the community and other students about the large role he played in athletes’ lives.”

The phrase “Rise Up for Rob” originated from a Twitter hashtag started by Sarah Bregg, a sophomore at Onondaga Community College.

Bregg, an exercise science major, as well as a soccer, basketball and softball player, said Edson was always supportive of his athletes.

“Personally, on game days he would tell me to rise up to the occasion and that everything would be OK, because no matter what the score was when the buzzer sounded, he was proud,” Bregg said. “This is where the hashtag originated.”

Tricarico said he wanted to create something the student section could use to commemorate Edson and thought T-shirts would be the best idea.

Tricarico contacted Holy Shirt!, a Syracuse T-shirt company, with his ideas and spent Thursday and Friday working on the design, he said. Pete Sala, senior associate director of athletics for facilities and the managing director of the Carrier Dome, agreed to provide funding for the shirts, Tricarico said.

On Friday evening and Saturday morning, Tricarico said, he and Otto’s Army started selling the shirts for $5. Since Friday, he said they’ve sold more than 340 shirts.

The T-shirts were highly visible at the game, said Ben Glidden, president of Otto’s Army. The group also distributed the shirts throughout the first few rows of the student section, he said.

“We tried to distribute the T-shirts to as many people as possible, students and non-students,” said Glidden, a junior public relations major. “Students in the first row hung the shirts over the railing for all to see.”

Tricarico said Edson’s cousin contacted him on Facebook and told him how great the project was.

“The family is all for this,” he said.

Later this week, a meeting will be held to discuss possible plans for the online distribution of the shirts.

 

zdschwei@syr.edu

Published on September 24, 2013 at 2:10 am

Contact Zach: zdschwei@syr.edu