Master barber Ted Bollinger keeps a hall-of-fame photo album of haircuts he’s given in his University of Colorado Buffs-themed shop.
Former head football coach Bill McCartney, who led CU’s 1990 team to the national championship, gets a classic gentleman’s taper. Offensive coordinator Eric Bienemy is pictured getting a fade during his last coaching stint in Boulder nearly a decade ago. And head coach Dan Hawkins, who was fired last year, is photographed holding Bollinger’s baby.
The Buffs Barber Shop on University Hill is a shrine to CU sports — from the signature charging-Ralphie logo dominating the window front to the pennants, signed footballs, clocks and encased Barbie cheerleader doll that decorate the inside of the shop.
Now, the business relationship between the barbershop and CU has been strained because of a dispute over licensing royalties, and the squabble has broken the partnership beyond repair, say both sides. The rift between the barbershop and CU coincides with the university’s larger-scale efforts to bolster its brand — and that means increasing licensing revenue, displaying consistent logos and guarding university-owned symbols from being pirated.
Over the decade, the Ralphie logo has been free to roam, and now CU is reining in its trademarked Buffalo.
University officials say the Buffs Barber Shop has failed to pay licensing fees since 2006. The contract states that the royalties are due four times a year. Ted Bollinger and his mother, Mary Bollinger, who run the shop, contend that they’ve tried to make payments and that the partnership with CU soured after they planned a “bring back coach Mac” rally in the fall, lobbying to get McCartney rehired.
The university earns about $750,000 a year on its trademark, according to CU system spokesman Ken McConnellogue. A Daily Camera analysis shows that the average licensing revenue earned by universities in the Pac-10 Conference, which CU will be joining, is about $1.2 million. In its former league, the Big 12, the University of Texas’ Longhorns hooked $10 million a year in licensing revenue.
Prior to CU’s rebranding effort that rolled out last fall, university officials were concerned about the hodgepodge of logos that had popped up throughout its system.
“I think the fact that there were hundreds of different — and sometimes competing — images of CU clearly showed that we had lost control of our brand,” McConnellogue said.
The Bollingers opened up shop about a decade ago, and became the official barbershop of CU.
But CU has blown the whistle on some of their business tactics: The barbershop distributed fliers with CU’s official logo on it, amid a coaching search, advocating that McCartney be rehired. And the Buffs Barber Shop developed a hair pomade, packaged with CU’s trademark, but without the university’s permission, said Bronson Hilliard, CU-Boulder spokesman.
But, ultimately, the reason that CU terminated its agreement with the Buffs Barber Shop this spring, Hilliard said, is because of overdue royalties.
