Coach Stew Morrill signs commemorative shirts
Aggie basketball fans lined up outside the campus store Wednesday afternoon to purchase commemorative Stew Morrill T-shirts and have them autographed by him.
The Hurd designed shirts in honor of Morrill as he finishes his last season at Utah State as the head coach of the men’s basketball team.
“I think it’s an extremely cool opportunity that we have, to recognize one of the greatest coaches that we’ve had at Utah State,” said junior Thomas Rogers.
Rachel Lankford, a campus store employee who managed the autograph line, estimated that more than 300 people came to have Morrill sign their shirts. Most of them had purchased multiple shirts.
“It’s a good way to say goodbye to Stew and pay tribute and get part of him to stay with us,” Lankford said.
Morrill signed shirts for about an hour, staying longer than he had originally planned. At one point, the autograph line stretched from the campus store almost to the west entrance of the student center.
Lankford attributed the event’s success to Morrill and his legacy.
“Everyone’s going to miss him,” she said. “He’s been a really great coach.”
Morrill’s legacy has touched a range of students who came to say goodbye to him Wednesday.
“I think Stew’s legacy is something very special that you don’t see a lot in college basketball,” Rogers said. “When you think about Utah State, you think about Old Main, you think about the Spectrum and then you think about Stewart Morrill. So his legacy has been very well defined in a great athletics program that he’s done for Utah State basketball.”
Sophomore Janessa Mackay has attended Aggie basketball games since she was little.
“I wanted to thank Coach Morrill for everything he’s done,” she said. “He’s done so much for Utah State, taking our basketball team to a whole different level.”
The front of the shirt features a finger pointing upward, made of words that describe Morrill’s legacy. The back of the shirts is designed like a sports jersey with the number 17 to represent the number of years Morrill has spent at Utah State.
“We tried to incorporate the things that are Stew’s legacy,” said Justin Miller, Hurd president.
Morrill’s last home game will be against Colorado State on Saturday, March 7, at 7:00 p.m.
— olivia.webb@aggiemail.usu.edu
Twitter: @oliviawebb77