Mascots, Etc started out as a small, family operation in 1976, and though we've grown quite a bit, we're still a family run operation.
Our Story
OUR MISSION
At Mascots, Etc. our mission is to bring sports fans the apparel they deserve, offering high-quality, unique designs that capture the spirit of sports teams nationwide. Since 1976, our family-owned business has been dedicated to offering fans like you the perfect fan gear for any team that doesn't have an official merchandise line—whether it's a local high school, a regional league, a city recreation department or church team, or any group with a proud mascot name. We’ve got your back with gear for over 350 mascots, providing a versatile solution for fans whose teams aren’t represented in the world of licensed merchandise.
At Mascots, Etc. we believe in delivering value, integrity, and customer satisfaction in every product we create. That’s why we offer affordable, high-quality fan gear at prices that make sense for every budget. Our prices are among the lowest you'll find anywhere online for fan merchandise, and we work hard every day to keep them low, while never sacrificing our equal commitment to delivering a high-quality product.
Mascots, Etc. is also committed to supporting American manufacturing, and that's why over 60% of our inventory features 100% U.S.-grown and fairly sourced cotton. Additionally, over 95% of our inventory is manufactured in America, and our designs are proudly printed in the USA with union labor. Our dedication to made-in-America products means that every purchase you make helps support local industries and fair sourcing practices. Every purchase is an opportunity to be part of something bigger, as we continue to provide high-quality, affordable options for fans of all kinds.
Beyond the apparel, Mascots, Etc. is a company that values customer satisfaction above all else. We’re passionate about sports and the role they play in uniting communities, and we believe everyone should have access to gear that reflects that passion. Sports are more than just games—they are a way of life. We understand that each fan, no matter the team, deserves to proudly wear their passion. We strive to provide an accessible, affordable, and exceptional solution for fans across the country who are looking for something special and unique. When you shop with Mascots, Etc., you’re not just buying a product; you’re joining a community that values love for the game, quality craftsmanship, and pride in supporting local businesses.
Our Story
Mascots, Etc started out as a small, family operation in 1976, making a single design for fans of a single high school football team one game at a time. Now we offer over 100,000 products, covering more than 350 mascots, selling to schools and customers nationwide. We've built our business to fill the needs of fans of the thousands of teams across the country that don't have licensed merchandise; fans looking for a quality, value-brand option of fan gear for any team; and anyone without a home team looking for sport-fashion clothing for that athletic look. After 48 years and in our 3rd generation, we're still just the same as when we started, we've just grown a little.
"We started out working out of a little aluminum shed down behind the high school. The PTA over at the elementary school used to make these little ribbons to sell to the kids every Friday for a quarter, and each one had a graphic on it for the high school’s game that night. My youngest would pass one to me through the fence at morning recess, and then we'd duplicate the design and spend the whole day making t-shirts on a single, old screen printing machine. I still remember the first two designs we did: 'Tigers Swamp the Indians' and 'Tigers Wallop the Warriors.' We’d make as many shirts as we could working all day and then sell them off the back of my truck outside the stadium gates. We’d sell out every week before the whole crowd had even arrived.
"The next year, the artist who’d been doing those rally ribbons for the elementary school came to work for us. He eventually became our first master designer. We started making the shirts all week long for the Friday night game, and we always sold out by game time. We expanded into the basketball season and the baseball and softball seasons that year too. Then, in our third year, the other local high school reached out to ask if we could start providing Hornets merchandise for their games. So, we added two more screen printing machines.
"The company really started making a name for itself by year four, with seven more area schools working with us to produce fan merchandise. We moved into our current facilities and began expanding production. In 1982, we launched the Team Gear brand to supply phys-ed and team practice tees for our growing clientele. Team Gear started with 17 mascots and served 22 schools in the area.
"We just kept adding schools, expanding geographically, and growing our customer base. We found out that the official Team Gear products we made for the schools were really popular with fans too. So, each time we signed up a new school, we'd start making fan gear for that mascot along with the team supplies. Now, we’re working with schools, little league groups, and even some junior colleges in seven states, with over a hundred mascots and partner teams.
"When the Olympics came around in '84, we launched the Team '84 design series, and that really showed us there was a huge demand for more generalized team and fan clothing. Up ‘til then, most of our business had been through the schools we worked with, providing phys-ed shirts and practice gear through Team Gear, plus a design or two we’d call Rally Shirts that the schools would sell to their students, parents, and boosters. But when Team '84, and then the Century Sports line, became a big hit through word of mouth, we decided to go nationwide with a catalog and start marketing to high school fans everywhere—even those schools we weren’t servicing with Team Gear.
"Now, we’ve got almost ten thousand products in the catalog, and we shipped out to over 3,000 schools and organizations last year. I’m real excited about the next chapter. We just finished expanding our facilities here in town, and we've got a brand-new showroom open. There’s new designs—and new mascots—on the horizon. It seems like the market for sports fan merchandise just keeps growing."
That was from an interview my grandfather did with the local paper in 1987. The little boy in the story was my uncle. Grandpa retired in 1994, but not before seeing the catalog he mentioned grow to over 50,000 products, covering 200 mascots and shipping out 10,000 copies each year. The last major expansion he oversaw was the Team Gear brand's launch of the ArenaSports line, a series of designs with a specific focus on soccer, gymnastics, volleyball, cheer, and other growing, non-traditional sports for our partner schools.
Mascots, Etc entered the new millennium with designs for over 250 mascots, and the company continued to expand its catalog and catalog distribution and also the growing list of schools we were providing gear for. Where the second generation of the company really began to grow Mascots, Etc was to the general public. In the early 2000's, Mascots, Etc shifted our focus to service the huge group of sports fans and supporters of high school and little leagues nationwide that could not find team merchandise. We also recognized that the explosion of professional and NCAA merchandise on the market in the '90s created a demand for fan apparel that wasn't being met for fans of non-professional or non D1 teams.
Through the 2000's Mascots, Etc. has grown our family of customers by focusing on filling this need. Expanding beyond the high school athletics market, Mascots, Etc signed exclusive merchandising agreements with Dixie League Football in 2002, the IFA's Pan-Am League in 2008 and the AFFL in 2009. Fans not affiliated with our marketing-partner schools became an increasingly larger part of our business, passing 50% in 2007. They are now our primary focus. Over the past decade we've provided officially licensed merchandise for small market teams from several semi-pro leagues (Continental Football League, Mexican-SW Baseball Federation, Texas League, City-League Basketball, IFL) and also have become the official member's supplier for the CFLPA.
As the third generation of the family took a more active role in the company in the 2010's, the company continued in the direction of providing gear for fans with teams that aren't large-market enough to have merchandise on the market - so basically for fans everywhere. We established an online presence, offering almost 10,000 products from our 50 best selling mascots to anyone, anywhere 24 hours a day. Through our website, the universal nature of our designs and wide variety of mascots and team colors has led us to discover a whole new market: fashion-sportswear. Being hardcore fans, we don't quite understand it, but apparently there are shoppers out there who want that sporty look, but don't have a favorite team and just want to find a look they like without rooting for a specific team. Well, we think we're the perfect ones to fill that need as well.
Just two years shy of our 50th anniversary, we're proud to offer over 100,000 products covering 378 different mascots (#378 - Grasshoppers; added November, 2024) in a huge variety of team colors. Believe it or not, there's over a hundred more mascots on our on-deck list, so we're going to keep adding them and keep finding customers with fan gear needs that we can fulfil.
At Mascots, Etc. we understand that sports are a part of life and that for many of us, fan loyalty is a part of our personal identities. You shouldn't have to be a fan of the Dallas Cowboys or the New York Yankees to find quality, stylish, affordable options for fan gear that looks fantastic and is available with enough variety that any fan can find something to wear for his team. If you're cheering for the Greenville Grasshoppers U-6 T-ball team, you're going to need some options for Grasshoppers merch.
Don't worry, we've got you covered.
