“Make UT football great again” … sound familiar? 

You may have seen a similar slogan on a hat worn by presidential candidate Donald Trump. His campaign slogan, “Make America Great again,” is famous, not because of its originality, but because it is actually a very common campaign slogan.

President Ronald Reagan first used the slogan during his campaign in 1980. The reason for all of the attention is that Trump wears it on a big white trucker hat everywhere he goes.

The University of Texas at Austin counterpart, to the billionaire’s campaign cap, aims to boost the morale from the rocky start of the season, currently (3-4), by providing a little motivation and plenty of laughs to Longhorns everywhere for the remainder of the season. 

Whether it is the hats or a stroke of luck, the Longhorns have seen improvement, winning their last two games against the University of Oklahoma and Kansas State University. 

Longhorns hope to see this trend continue throughout the next five games.

Another interesting thing about the hat, adding to its character, is that it is multi-purpose. William Shoff, originally from the East coast, says that the “UT” and orange color could also stand for the University of Tennessee volunteers.

The hats are the creation of Shoff, a 2015 graduate and avid football fan. Originally Shoff and a few friends created the hats purely as a joke between friends. However, the popularity of the hats grew quickly. 

The similarities between the two hats essentially end at design and appearance. 

I do not believe that Shoff had any intention to make a comparison between UT Coach Charlie Strong and Trump. 

From the initial order of 100 hats to the final 319th hat, it is very clear that the hats were a hit. 

Shoff stopped because he did not intend to make the hats a permanent or long-term project. 

This project was intended for friends and family, not the money — not to say that it didn’t turn a profit.

Shoff used the crowd-funding site Tilt, selling each hat for $25 a piece. 

With 319 sold, Shoff was able to generate a revenue of $7,975. 

This would translate to profits ranging from $2,233 to $3,190, which he said that he will use to go to away games with the Longhorns. 

Even if Shoff bought front row seats on the 50-yard line and upgraded his seats for the home games for the remainder of the season, some of the most expensive seats, it would cost about $1,236. 

This would mean that Shoff would have a surplus of at least $997, making this a very successful business venture for him.