For Prairie View A&M University, branded merchandise isn’t just about what moves off the rack. It’s about identity, storytelling and creating meaningful connections that extend far beyond campus.

The historically Black university in Texas has spent the last decade reshaping its licensing and merchandising approach, with momentum accelerating over the past few years as the school became more intentional about its vendor partnerships and brand standards.

“We’ve found our footing recently by being intentional in the way we partner with our suppliers,” says Candace Johnson, executive director of marketing and communications at Prairie View A&M.

“We’re excited about the way we’re starting to move the needle, especially for HBCUs, to make sure we’re identifying best practices that work for us that could be applied to any university across the nation.”

From Product To Platform

A chance encounter at the Collegiate Licensing Company’s HBCU Summit in June 2024 became a turning point.

Johnson met Tahir Murray – a young entrepreneur and fellow HBCU graduate – who runs Atlanta-based apparel brand Legacy History Pride. Specializing in HBCU clothing, the vendor primarily makes revenue from licensing agreements with more than 30 schools, Forbes reported.

  • LHP also has previous collaborations with Nike, NASCAR and Nickelodeon.


Murray suggested creating a single Prairie View A&M T-shirt, but Johnson and her colleague, Sierra L. Susberry, assistant director of marketing and communications, had a grander vision.

Instead of making merchandise merely transactional, Johnson and Susberry – classmates-turned-lifelong friends – envisioned “360° storytelling,” in which promotional products could tell a narrative and engage the campus and surrounding community.


“We stopped treating merch as a product and started seeing it as a platform,” the duo says.

So, they invited Murray to campus to engage with students at the College of Business, the campus radio station, the athletics department and most importantly, the bookstore. At the time, the school had just one branded shirt sitting on a rack in the store. As the relationship with LHP developed and the brand story aligned with the university’s values, that presence expanded dramatically.

“From [the bookstore’s] perspective, if it’s not moving, it gets replaced,” Johnson says. “From our perspective, we knew the merchandise would sell because it connects directly to our community. We just needed to tell that story.”

And there was no better time to tell it than Homecoming, when current students, alumni, faculty, staff, family and friends all gathered on campus. The buzz over the new swag led to increased sales and a renewed sense of belonging. That led to the school’s merch moving from one rack in the bookstore to four racks, all displaying a full collection as part of LHP’s capsule.

Our partnership with PVAMU is rooted in authenticity, intention and opportunity.”

Tahir Murray

Founder/Creative Director, Legacy History Pride

“Sierra and Candace have not only welcomed me and my team to campus but have truly rolled out the red carpet for us,” Murray says. “Our experience with them demonstrated their genuine commitment to building community and creating spaces where our business can thrive, while also providing students with opportunities to learn, engage and gain real-world experience.

“Our partnership with PVAMU is rooted in authenticity, intention and opportunity, which are values that drive meaningful collaboration and benefit both the PVAMU community and our business alike.”

Brand Governance

Over time, the bookstore began bringing brand ideas directly to the marketing team, effectively becoming an extension of Prairie View A&M’s communications strategy. “We’re massaging that relationship all year long,” Susberry says. “We know what sells, but we also understand the marketing side and what they’re looking for.”

However, that expansion wouldn’t be possible without tighter brand governance.

Johnson says Prairie View A&M has spent years cleaning up inconsistencies in color usage and trademarks that had crept in over time, including a gold color shift that unintentionally mirrored LSU’s identity. “We went through focus groups to find a color that all generations could connect to,” she says.

We went on a cease-and-desist spree. We wanted people to understand we’re serious about where our brand identity is headed.”

Candace Johnson

Executive Director of Marketing & Communications, Prairie View A&M

Next up: modernizing the university’s panther icon, which hasn’t been updated since the 1980s. “We’ve been soft-launching new panther concepts to see where our audience wants us to go,” Johnson says. “As we head into our 150th year, we want this to be the next step in how we present ourselves.”

The university has also become more aggressive about trademark enforcement. “We went on a cease-and-desist spree,” Johnson says. “We wanted people to understand we’re serious about where our brand identity is headed.”

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After all, branded merch plays a critical role in extending the campus experience, especially as students disperse across the country during winter break, the summer and following graduation.

“They literally become brand ambassadors,” Johnson says. “So, we’re focused on how we take those core moments and tie merchandise to them, so students remember not just the moment, but the shirt, hat or mug associated with it.”

Measuring ROI

To track success, Prairie View A&M looks beyond traditional sales metrics.

“We build activations around product launches to see how quickly units move,” Susberry says. “We look at viewership, landing-page traffic, scans and attendance.”

The university now uses scan codes to identify audience segments – students, faculty, alumni or first-time attendees – and track engagement over time. “That checklist gives us the data we need,” Susberry says.

[Students] don’t just want to be in the picture anymore. They want to be part of the process.”

Sierra L. Susberry

Assistant Director of Marketing & Communications, Prairie View A&M

The data has also informed product expansion beyond staples like T-shirts and patches into higher-end and lifestyle categories, including hats, scarves, mugs, jewelry and more. “Home goods, car accessories and kitchenware have been huge,” Susberry says. “Cutting boards, wine glasses — those categories are really resonating.”

The results have been tangible. Student interest in branding has surged, with more students seeking roles as ambassadors, designers and contributors. Design contests now allow students to create pieces that move from concept to store shelves.

“They don’t just want to be in the picture anymore,” Susberry says. “They want to be part of the process.”

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Meanwhile, initiatives like the “Panther Zone” pregame experience have fueled excitement for exclusive drops – some of which began as free giveaways and are now being considered for retail release after student response.

Off campus, Prairie View A&M has expanded community activations at local locations like Academy Sports + Outdoors, strengthening alumni engagement and driving traffic without always requiring a purchase. “We’ve seen the uptick in demand,” Susberry says. “There’s real buy-in.”

The success with LHP has drawn attention from other suppliers as well. “We have more than 400 vendors,” Johnson says. “After that connection, so many have reached out wanting to duplicate what we’ve done.”