@twoinanddone - just my opinion. UT obviously didn’t have to do anything. They could have taken his design and not sent him anything and not given any money to charity. But, I have read they have pre-sold 50,000 shirts. Giving the kid a buck a shirt in addition to his full-tuition scholarship would cover his room and board for four years.
Maybe I am the one who is opportunistic. I’m willing to concede that. I do think UT should have started with giving this student more than a box of swag. It seriously looked like what would be sent to a local out-of-state alumni group (plus a jersey for him) for a watch party. Offered him a tuition and fees scholarship (or better full-ride) from the outset and donated 100% of the profits to the anti-bullying nonprofit. This is a student who resides in Florida. UT plays UF in Gainesville a week from Friday. Bring him to the game as a guest of UT - he only lives 90 miles away (maybe they have done that by now, too - idk). The amount of goodwill that this could have fostered would have been huge for UT. So maybe that is why I could be fairly labeled as opportunistic. Be generous from the get-go. Not as an afterthought. Obviously I have no idea what the motivation of UT was or what the timeline of the series of events has been. I’m glad they are doing what they are doing. It’s definitely a step up.
As I said, just my opinion. I respect yours as well. 