The IU Impact: Our entrepreneur ecosystem not only preps students to become successful business owners but also fuels job creation and economic growth.
When students with dreams of starting their own business come to Indiana University, they find an expanding entrepreneurial network built to turn those dreams into reality.
IU graduates have generated about $7 billion in added annual income to the Indiana economy, equivalent to supporting 92,655 jobs. Offering guidance from top-notch faculty and supportive resources like IU Ventures and IU Innovates, IU is doing more than helping students earn a diploma — it is investing in business endeavors that fuel the economy in Indiana and beyond.
Connor Hitchcock, co-founder of the premium collegiate clothing brand Homefield, is a 2016 alumnus of the IU Kelley School of Business, which U.S. News & World Report recently ranked No. 4 for marketing and No. 8 for overall undergraduate business programs. Hitchcock said the resources and support he received while at IU are “inextricably tied” to the success of his Indianapolis-headquartered business.
From its humble beginnings when Hitchcock screen-printed shirts in his college apartment to becoming one of the largest brands in collegiate apparel today, Hitchcock credits IU for helping him build Homefield from the ground up.
From retail to entrepreneurship
In 2016, Hitchcock had a fortuitous meeting with his marketing strategy professor, John Talbott.
He told Talbott, a senior lecturer at the Kelley School and IU alum, about his side hustle screen-printing shirts. He sold the shirts door-to-door to businesses along Kirkwood Avenue and Bloomington’s downtown square. He had even begun selling shirts to boutiques and outdoor shops back home in Indianapolis, getting 30 stores to carry his product.
Recognizing an opportunity to offer guidance to a young entrepreneur, Talbott invited Hitchcock to discuss his budding retail business over coffee.
“We’re not only a football school; we’re a retail school,” Talbott said. “Our retail program really facilitates entrepreneurship because it inspires a whole field of potential new retailers like Connor.”
Talbott often connects entrepreneurial students to resources like the IU Angel Network, an IU Ventures program that connects university-affiliated investors and companies; and The Mill, Bloomington’s nonprofit center for coworking and entrepreneurship.
Students can also access resources via IU Innovates, a university-wide initiative to advance student entrepreneurs through startup incubation hubs, sponsorship of entrepreneurship resources and impact storytelling. Since its launch in 2023, IU Innovates has supported 100 startup teams, with 65 teams currently going through a bootcamp to learn and practice the essential skills of entrepreneurship.
“Over the years, the whole university and the city of Bloomington have developed a supportive network for young entrepreneurs,” Talbott said. “Any student in the university can take advantage of those resources.”
During their chat, Talbott suggested that Hitchcock interview with One Click, a startup based out of Greenwood that specialized in ecommerce eyewear. There, he could gain firsthand experience working for a growing small business.
‘The kick was good’
By fall 2016, Hitchcock was working full time in digital marketing at One Click, learning how to sell products on the internet and screen-printing shirts every morning before work.
That fall, one of his designs went viral.
At the infamous 2016 Pinstripe Bowl, IU lined up to kick a field goal that would have sent the game into triple overtime. The kick looked good, but the referee disagreed, ending the game and sending IU fans into a tizzy.
Hitchcock made a shirt that read “The kick was good.” He sold hundreds in one day.
Following that success, the CEO of One Click became Homefield’s first investor, followed by Talbott and others. Then IU’s Office of Corporate Sponsorships, Licensing and Trademarks helped Hitchcock secure a license to sell official IU apparel.
With official licensing in his tool belt, Hitchcock said he used the tangible skills he had learned in his courses to home in on what customers were missing within the collegiate apparel business.
“There weren’t many brands out there that tried to make something specific or unique for universities, so our very first officially licensed shirt for IU was the bison print,” Hitchcock said.
By making a bison shirt, Homefield was tapping into IU’s distinctive history. The bison was the official IU Bloomington mascot from 1965 to 1969. After a long hiatus, it was reinstated in 2025.
“We were the first brand since the ’60s or ’70s to print the bison on an IU shirt,” Hitchcock said. “It’s still our bestseller to this day.”
Homefield advantage
Homefield now sells products for more than 200 universities.
Earlier this fall, it opened its first brick-and-mortar location on Kirkwood Avenue in Bloomington, bringing the business back to its roots. Hitchcock partnered with Ben Iler, owner of the vinyl record store Tracks, to open Homefield at Tracks, where customers can find apparel and records in one spot.
Hitchcock said he visits dozens of college campuses each year, but IU continues to stand out in a unique way, which contributed to the decision to open a store in Bloomington.
“There are a handful of schools that have a beautiful campus, great academics and a thriving downtown, and IU pulls all those together,” Hitchcock said.
“IU is for sure part of our brand story.”
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