The Shirt Project began in 1990 through the vision and leadership of Brennan Harvath, '91. As Chairman of AnTostal -- the Student Union Board's spring celebration -- Harvath envisioned raising money to supplement the AnTostal budget by selling a t-shirt to Notre Dame students. The Shirt, as it became known, was intended to unify the student body in Notre Dame Stadium for the home football game against Michigan on September 15, 1990. With Notre Dame and Michigan having similar team colors, Harvath's vision was for the crowd to be unified in green, symbolic of the Fighting Irish. More than 9,000 shirts were sold, and over 85% of the student body wore The Shirt to the game. In fact, sales of The Shirt 1990 generated $17,000, with a portion of the funds being allocated to each of Notre Dameís residence halls.
Due to the popularity of The Shirt 1990, the program continued the following year with the subsequent Chairman of AnTostal once again coordinating the project. As the success and notoriety of The Shirt continued to grow, revenue exceeded the needs of the Student Union Board. Thus, The Shirt Project became its own student organization, and student leaders decided to distribute the profits to other student organizations.
In 1993, profits from The Shirt Project were used to offset the medical expenses of a student who was paralyzed. Additional funds were used to establish memorial scholarships in the names of Meghan Beeler and Colleen Hippótwo members of the Notre Dame varsity swimming team who had died in a bus accident in 1992.
Sister Jean Lenz, an Assistant Vice President in the Office of Student Affairs, recognized the success of The Shirt 1990. At the time, Sister Lenz was providing support to Zhengde Wang, a Chinese doctoral student who was seriously injured when he was hit by a car in November 1989. Thus, Sister Lenz approached Joe Cassidy, then Director of Student Activities, with the idea of selling another shirt and using all proceeds to defray the cost of Wang's increasing medical expenses. With the October 20, 1990, home football game against Miami drawing near, Cassidy and Lenz presented their idea to Hall Presidents' Council, and the student leaders agreed to support the fundraiser by selling the shirts on campus.
The Notre Dame Athletic Department generated media attention for the fundraiser, and all 17,000 navy blue shirts printed for the game were sold before kickoff. A second version of the "T-Shirt for the Cause" was printed after the game, and an additional 15,300 of these shirts were sold. The 32,300 total shirts that were sold generated $100,000 for Wang and his family.
Today, money raised by The Shirt Project is still used to subsidize student organizations and create memorial scholarships in the names of Notre Dame students. Moreover, The Shirt Project preserves the charitable nature of the "T-Shirt for the Caus"î campaign. In fact, each year, fifty percent of the proceeds are deposited in The Shirt Charity Fund, which supports Notre Dame students who suffer catastrophic illnesses and accidents. The Rector Fund -- which supports Notre Dame students who could not otherwise afford to attend campus-life activities such as spiritual retreats, home football games, and residence hall dances -- also receives a portion of the revenue.