Alum creates Knight-inspired clothing line

If you're sick of wearing those plain, oversized, generic UCF T-shirts to show your school pride, you are in luck.

On Oct. 22, UCF alumnus George Kedenburg launched his new clothing line, KNIGHTSWAG, which focuses on giving UCF students the swag they've been missing.

KNIGHTSWAG caters to the special niche of students at UCF by creating graphic tees with sayings such as "Alafaya is My Hood" and "Numbers Don't Lie – Biggest School in Florida."

"There are not other shirts out there that are geared toward such a niche audience in the Knights' community," Kedenburg said. "These shirts are catered to a specific market and couldn't be made by someone who didn't go to UCF, because they are made with that insider kind of idea. The hope is to make shirts that people will actually wear and like wearing."

Kedenburg earned a bachelor's degree in advertising and public relations and a minor in digital media; after being asked to design the 2010 gameday T-shirt for SGA, Kedenburg saw the potential he had in creating and designing T-shirts.

"I remember how awesome it felt to see 10,000 people wearing [the 2010 game day] shirt, and that is what made me start thinking about how I could keep doing that," Kedenburg said. "And I wanted to design shirts, because so many people are walking around with shirts that don't say anything. It is like a blank canvas with the most opportunity for expression."

After seeing his shirt worn by thousands, Kedenburg started to throw around ideas of what kind of style of shirts he liked making and what kind of market he could sell them to. It didn't take long for him to find his swag and design shirts specifically for the UCF community. And with his unique style in design, he wanted a name that fit, thus coming up with KNIGHTSWAG.

Also behind Kedenburg's inspiration, was his time at UCF and the many professors who taught him almost everything he knows about advertising and marketing.

"Going to UCF definitely helped me start this. I wouldn't be making these shirts if I didn't go there in the first place," Kedenburg said. "And with a good AD/PR program, I have learned the skills to be able to do this, like what aspects of a product make people latch on to it."

After graduating in May, Kedenburg was able to land a graphic design job with a company he previously interned for, Knight, Inc., an advertising agency based in downtown Orlando. Kedenburg attributes a lot of his experience and talent to Knight, Inc., and many people within the company are excited that he has taken on this new role of creating his own brand.

"George is a very hard worker and has innovative ideas that help our forward-thinking client base," Knight, Inc. senior accounts manager Sara Lamason said. "KNIGHTSWAG is a perfect fit for students looking to wear apparel that's more than traditional university gear. It has attitude that catches your eye and is unexpected. Though inspired by UCF, you don't need to be a current student or alum to appreciate the cheekiness of it."

KNIGHTSWAG has already been gaining some buzz on campus, earning more than 700 "likes" on its Facebook page the day of its launch, without any kind of advertising other than word of mouth.

Senior education major and friend of Kedenburg's, T.J. Gillin, is impressed with the shirts and can't wait to get his swag on.

"These shirts are original and unique to the UCF area, and George has always been talented with graphic design and it's not a surprise that he came up with some really awesome designs that I think will really sell," Gillin said. "My favorite shirt is the ‘Alafaya is My Hood,' but all these shirts are something you actually want to wear. They are not just your average UCF T-shirt."

If you want to get your swag on, visit www.KNIGHTSWAG.com and order your own KNIGHTSWAG UCF T-shirt now. All shirts are priced at $20. For more information and to keep updated on new shirt designs, follow KNIGHTSWAG on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/KNIGHTSWAG and on Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/KNIGHTSWAG.