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PIERCETON -ÊWhen Chris Owens and Ty McNall saw T-shirts supporting Purdue football player Stuart Schweigert that said "Stu's Crew," it sparked an idea.
Both Purdue graduates, Owens and McNall liked the idea of supporting a player from their alma mater.
So the pair, who are engineers at SPX Corporation in Pierceton, decided to put their heads together and find a player to create a T-shirt for and they chose Purdue senior Niko Koutouvides.
However, it was not a simple undertaking. Owens and McNall had to go through a lot of red tape to make sure the shirts they were trying to create did not violate any NCAA or Purdue University rules.
And they could not use the name Purdue University or Boilermakers anywhere on the shirt.
They could not use Koutouvides' full name or number on the shirt, either.
With the help of John Purdue Club member Bob Bernhard, Owens and McNall came up with a shirt that met all the standards.
"We had to make sure we met all the rules of compliance and didn't infringe on licensing," said Owens. "We just wanted to show our support for Purdue. We are not making any money off the shirts, this project is completely non-profit."
So Owens and McNall went forward with their project and "Neke's Freaks" were born.
"Ty and Chris got in touch with my parents and told them about the shirts," said Koutouvides. "I was flattered and thought it was pretty cool that they wanted to start a fan club for me. It's also cool that people like me enough to wear my shirts."
Koutouvides, who received the Hammer Award for outstanding hitter in Purdue's spring camp, is one of the Boilermakers' leading defensive players. After starting 13 games at middle linebacker as a junior last season, Koutouvides was named All-Big Ten by the media and second team All-Big Ten by coaches and had 121 tackles, eight pass breakups and four sacks. He was also honored with the Connecticut Player of the Year by the Walter Camp Football Foundation.
Since Koutouvides won the Hammer Award, Owens and McNall created a slogan for the back of the T-shirts as well. The antique gold shirts say "Neke's Freaks" on the front, and "When the Hammer comes down, don't be the nail" with a graphic on the back.
"I think it's great," said Koutouvides. "Chris and Ty are really great guys, and I'm honored that they chose me."
Owens and McNall have sold around 200 shirts already and plan to sell more throughout the summer. They also plan to sell the shirts in West Lafayette before Purdue's first few home football games. The shirts sell for $10 each plus $3.95 shipping and can be ordered at ciowens@kconline.com. Those who would like to pick up the shirts themselves can contact Owens and bypass the shipping costs.
"We would like to sell 1,000 shirts," said Owens. "But we would also like to see other groups support other players. It would be great to have several different groups come up with their own ideas for other guys. Now that we have been successful in getting this off the ground, we are hoping other will follow suit and learn how to do the same thing."
While Owens and McNall would like to see 1,000 shirts sold, Koutouvides has his own ideas.
"The more the better for me," Koutouvides said with a laugh. "I'd like to see 70,000 Neke's Freaks T-shirts fill the stadium."
