In the past few weeks, Loyola University Chicago fans from all over the world have been purchasing maroon and gold merchandise to show their support for the men’s basketball team in its first March Madness run since 1985.
The team’s success in the first two rounds of the tournament has caused university bookstore merchandise sales to increase dramatically.
Mani Pillait, the store manager at the Lake Shore Campus bookstore, said sales in the past few weeks online and in stores are up 300 percent from what they were at this time last year.
“The last two weeks have been phenomenal in terms of the support from the Loyola community and staff and students alike,” Pillait said.