Fourteen percent of students wear Hillsdale merch on any given day, according to a poll conducted by The Collegian.

The poll was conducted by observing more than 130 students in the Grewcock Student Union and tallying the students who were and were not wearing Hillsdale College merchandise. 

Junior Aidan Watts said he notices athletes wearing Hillsdale merch up the hill more often than other groups on campus.

“A lot of it tends to be branded with their team,” Watts said. “So a lot of times you see them wearing shirts that say ‘Hillsdale Football’ or ‘Hillsdale Baseball.’”

The bookstore sold 10,181 units of Hillsdale College clothing in the 2026 fiscal year, according to Bookstore Manager Cassie Cooper. Students tend to buy traditional, basic merch items rather than ones with elaborate colors or designs, Cooper said.

“The traditional items definitely trump the fun ones in terms of sales, but we’ve had some luck with the fun stuff too,” Cooper said. “This past spring, we brought in a crewneck that had a bear on it with the USA flag, and that did super well.”

Cooper said the bookstore sees the most purchases during the rush periods, which are the orientation weeks in the fall and spring semesters. Finals week is also busy due to the bookstore’s “Five Days of Finals” sale.

The bookstore runs promotions the day after every home football, volleyball, and basketball game based on how well the teams do. For every touchdown, set, and basketball game win, the bookstore takes 5% off purchases the following day.

The bookstore carries a wide variety of options to appeal to different people’s style preferences and occasions, Cooper said. 

“We have some really nice pieces that you can dress up,” Cooper said. “We try to carry some nicer, upscale pieces that can be dressed up or dressed down. The best way to show your pride is to advertise.”

Senior Nora Shipp said some of the nicer clothing the bookstore offers tends to be priced higher, which prevents her from buying it.

“I only have t-shirts,” Shipp said. “I don’t want to wear those to class, and I don’t have any of the cuter sweatshirts or anything because they’re crazy expensive.”

Watts said he differentiates himself on campus by wearing merch for his fraternity, Delta Tau Delta, rather than Hillsdale-branded clothing.

“On campus, I identify with Delt,” Watts said. “We wear our letters up the hill to show our presence on campus.”

Carly Moran ’25 said she wears Hillsdale merch when she’s away from campus more often than she did when she was a student at Hillsdale.

“Despite it being such a small school, it’s amazing how many people will comment on Hillsdale when they see me wearing my alumni hat or sweatshirt,” Moran said. “Airports are where I get the most compliments, mainly from fans of the college but occasionally other alumni. Also, I look pretty good in grey and blue.”