BUTTE — The past few weeks have seen an uptick in business at Uptop Clothing Co.
"Oh, it's been wild," said Katie Joyce, the company's operations director. "We've sold a ton of the Tommy shirts, everyone loves Tommy Mellott."
A Montana State graduate, Joyce also adds: "Go Cats."
Founded in 2010 by brothers Luke and Colt Anderson, Uptop has seen a surge of demand in one its newest products — a t-shirt with the words "Tommy Football" emblazoned on it. Next to those words is an image of the true freshman quarterback, who has been instrumental in Montana State's championship run, striking a Heisman pose.
Joyce estimates that the product has sold upwards of a thousand units since it debuted shortly after the Bobcats defeated South Dakota State in the semifinals. The design was crafted by Luke Anderson and then approved by Mellott himself.
The surge in business has kept Joyce plenty busy, saying "The last two days or so of last week I spent most of my day just packing individual orders."
The plain shirts are ordered by Uptop and then sent to the Copper Tee on Continental Drive where the design is printed on before being sent back to the Uptown location where they're both sold and distributed to retailers. The largest orders have come from Universal Athletic, which has seven stores across Montana.
For Joyce, an avid fan of her alma mater, the extra workload has been worth it.
"I almost cried at the end of the last game," she said. "Especially to have him from Butte, it's so awesome. I'm such a fan anyway but to have a Butte kid kind of leading the team and coming in so late in the season and just taking the reins like that I just this is so awesome."
To order a Tommy Mellott t-shirt, click here.
