Fanatics Launches "Fanatics Cares" to Help Raise Funds & Awareness for Charitable Organizations

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Jan. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Fanatics, Inc., the world's largest online retailer of officially licensed sports merchandise, announces their newest division that gives back to the community, Fanatics Cares. Fanatics Cares utilizes custom merchandise manufacturing, sports licensing, and an extensive distribution network of e-commerce stores to create a turn-key cause marketing program in which branded merchandise is offered to help raise funds and awareness for charitable organizations. This initiative will allow fans to show loyalty and support while joining Fanatics Cares in assisting worthy and notable causes.

Fanatics initially partnered with the University of Tennessee during the fall of 2010 with the launch of the official online store of Tennessee Athletics. To further their successful relationship with Tennessee, Fanatics participated in a campaign to promote the Pat Summitt Foundation Fund and help in the fight against Alzheimer's. A single t-shirt sporting the phrase 'We Back Pat' sold out in less than one week with over 10,000 shirts purchased. Fanatics Cares was conceived in November 2011 and this year will expand into a full line of quality merchandise featuring custom 'We Back Pat' designs. To date, over $100,000 in funds has been raised to support Alzheimer's research and programs.

"Pat Summitt has changed the game of women's basketball for 38 seasons and the Pat Summitt Foundation Fund is committed to changing the game of Alzheimer's disease. The Fund aids in the education and awareness of Alzheimer's, and research to treat, prevent, cure and eliminate this disease," said Danielle Donehew, Associate Commissioner for the BIG EAST Conference and representative for The Pat Summitt Foundation Fund. "We are grateful for the continued support of hundreds of fans, organizations, and companies including Fanatics Cares, the Southeastern Conference, the Collegiate Licensing Company, the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, and the University of Tennessee. The Fanatics Cares line of 'We Back Pat' merchandise is another example of the outpouring of support as Pat Summitt faces her toughest opponent."

During the week of January 15-22, there will be an unparalleled display of encouragement for Coach Summitt across the SEC, as each of the 12 SEC member institutions show support toward the Pat Summitt Foundation Fund during each of their home basketball games. In order to increase awareness of the Foundation Fund, various efforts will be made including the sale of team branded 'We Back Pat' merchandise through the teams' online stores and during key conference matchups throughout the week. Tennessee fans can find 'We Back Pat' merchandise for sale at Shop.UTSports.com. All SEC team merchandise in support of the Pat Summitt Foundation Fund is available at Fanatics.com. 

"The goal of the 'We Back Pat' campaign has always been to give Tennessee fans the opportunity to demonstrate their support of Coach Summitt, while generating awareness and increasing funds for Alzheimer's research," said Chris Fuller, Senior Associate Athletics Director for External Operations at the University of Tennessee. "Partnering with Fanatics gave us the tools we needed to reach fans and get them involved in this great campaign."

"According to a Cone Cause Evolution Study, 83% of Americans wish more of the products, services and retailers they use would directly benefit meaningful causes," said Brian Swallow, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Business Development at Fanatics. "Fanatics Cares was created to unite fans, teams, coaches, players, and supporters worldwide in order to make a difference and help these very worthwhile causes."

ABOUT FANATICS CARES
Fanatics Cares is the charitable arm of Fanatics, Inc., the world's largest online retailer of officially licensed sports merchandise. Fanatics Cares utilizes sports licensing, custom merchandise manufacturing, and an extensive network of e-commerce stores to offer branded sports products to help raise funds and awareness for charitable organizations. Its unparalleled distribution capabilities allow fans worldwide to show loyalty and support for their favorite sport, team, coach, or player, while joining Fanatics Cares to help worthy and notable causes. Kicking off its first campaign with the launch of the Pat Summitt Foundation Fund in 2011, Fanatics Cares partnered with the University of Tennessee to help in the fight against Alzheimer's. The 'We Back Pat' initiative started with a simple shirt that sold out in less than a week and this year will grow to an entire line of merchandise including hoodies, sweatshirts, women's and children's apparel that display custom designs created by a team who are fanatic about helping others.

ABOUT FANATICS INC.
Fanatics, Inc., is the leading provider of e-commerce solutions and the world's largest online retailer of officially licensed sports merchandise for collegiate institutions, professional sports teams & leagues, conferences, and media networks. Fanatics encompasses four sectors: direct-to-consumer retail, third-party e-commerce syndication, licensing and manufacturing, and fulfillment services. Proprietary brands of Fanatics include Football Fanatics, one of the most trafficked sports fan gear sites online, as well as the official online stores of the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB and NASCAR. Other partners include Yahoo! Sports, CBS Sports, FOX Sports, Oklahoma Sooners, Florida Gators, Oregon Ducks, New York Giants, Denver Broncos, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Orlando Magic, The Southeastern Conference, The Atlantic Coast Conference, The PGA, and Team USA, among many others. With the help of industry veteran and CEO of Fanatics, Alan Trager, Fanatics combines best-of-breed e-commerce hosting and retail strategy with highly-efficient order fulfillment, secure shopping solutions, and customer relationship management to help partners fully monetize their official websites. Learn more about Fanatics at www.fanatics.com.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120117/NY36856LOGO )

SOURCE Fanatics, Inc.