Notre Dame’s The Shirt to be unveiled today

SOUTH BEND — The University of Notre Dame’s The Shirt for 2014 will be unveiled during a celebration beginning at 4:30 p.m. today at the Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore on campus.

The celebration is free and open to the public.

Each year, a student group designs and markets a shirt with a theme related to Notre Dame football and its traditions. Proceeds from sales to students and fans go to The Shirt Charity Fund, which supports students suffering from severe illnesses and facing high medical bills as well as such student organizations as the Hall Presidents Council and Notre Dame Habitat for Humanity. The 2014 edition marks the 25th anniversary of The Shirt.

Today's celebration will include performances by the hip-hop dance group Project Fresh, the Notre Dame Bagpipe Band, the Notre Dame Pom Squad and the Notre Dame Glee Club, as well as a guest appearance of Notre Dame’s head football coach, Brian Kelly, who will officially unveil The Shirt at 6 p.m.

The unveiling will be streamed live online at: theshirt.nd.edu.

In 1990, the 32,300 shirts sold generated more than $100,000 for Zhengde Wang, a Notre Dame graduate student from China who had been severely injured in an automobile accident. Sales have grown ever since.

Last year, 156,000 shirts were sold, raising more than $750,000.

The design of The Shirt each year is kept secret until the unveiling celebration on the Friday afternoon before the Blue-Gold Game.

To see a photo gallery of all 25 years of The Shirt designs, visit:

http://www.southbendtribune.com/multimedia/photos/years-of-notre-dame-s-the-shirt/collection_f0061ae0-c171-11e3-a8aa-0017a43b2370.html#ad-image-0