One hundred years. One hundred seasons of basketball. One hundred years of building a rich tradition and molding athletes.

The WKU Store is here to provide the best products to celebrate and commemorate 100 successful seasons of basketball. In honor of the landmark year for the basketball program, The WKU Store has released a variety of new merchandise featuring throwback official marks from the College Vault, such as a block W and vintage WK.

“We are really excited about these designs,” marketing coordinator Sarah Sears said. “We are pairing old photos from the WKU Archives with the new product that we have now and reflecting back on some of the vintage logos.”

One aspect of The WKU Store that makes it so unique is the variety of products available. Customers can find anything from a red towel sherpa pullover to a Big Red cookie cutter.

In addition to WKU Archives, The WKU Store creatively collaborates with multiple on campus outlets, like WKU Athletics and Alumni to name a few.

“We did it for football season, and now for basketball soon too,” she said. “We have been collecting a bunch of old photos from previous basketball seasons going all the way 100 years back.”

In the spirit of supporting the university’s history and traditions in basketball, The WKU Store is also working with a group of film students to produce a unique commercial.

“We’ve looked through old basketball footage because we are piecing together our basketball commercial,” Sears said. “The commercial will feature shots of people in their WKU gear now and flashback to game footage from years ago. It should be a nice 30 second homage to our past players and fans.”

The vintage logos and the throwback photos seem to not only resonate with long-time WKU fans and former players, but also with current students and customers.

“They are loving anything with the W on it. It has become one of our better-selling designs this year,” Sears said. “Not that every fan fully appreciates the nostalgia of it all, but they know what they like when they see it. It is so much fun to see what was around before we were a part of The Hill.”

The 100 years celebration is creating personal connections with some customers.

“Just the other day a gentleman was admiring the black and white basketball photos in our window display when he spotted one that had his relative in it, and he requested a copy of it. The past is all around us, and it doesn’t take long to make it personal when you’re looking,” Sears said.

Besides sharing history, The WKU Store also offers many deals to WKU fans. An ongoing promotion it has is the third Thursday discount. On the third Thursday of every month, students get 15 percent off, a free laundry bag, and sometimes free gifts with purchase when they show their student ID. There is also an upcoming holiday sale Nov. 29 and 30 that offers 25 percent off all WKU gear.

The WKU Store also occasionally partnered with Starbucks to create dual deals.

“The best way for students to stay updated on our deals is to follow The WKU Store on our social media accounts,” Sears said.

Be sure to check out your WKU Store for a blast from the past and everything you need to cheer on the Tops.