Challenge
The athletics operations side of the senior recognition project landed on Alexa McMillen, Assistant AD for Equipment & Operations. Alexa graduated from the University of South Dakota's softball program in 2012 and came back to work for her alma mater. She had a clear sense of what would land with seniors and what would not. After a brief look at Shoe Zero's design platform, Alexa reached out about a senior-class order in Coyote red and white. Per-athlete sizing, named bags for delivery, ready to be presented at senior recognition.
Senior athletes range across every program in the department, with sports, builds, and shoe sizes varying across the group. A team gift that works for the whole group has to fit a wide range without flattening it into one-size-fits-all. Coyote brand colors had to land cleanly across 25 individual sizes, with no tolerance for off-shade red or off-position logos. The recognition date sets the deadline, and there is no second chance with a senior class. They cross the stage once.
In 2025, the senior athletes at the University of South Dakota were on track to walk through the standard ritual. Jersey, plaque, certificate, and a handshake. The kind of gift that ends up on a parents' shelf or in a closet within a week. The athletics staff wanted the moment to mean more than that. A senior athlete spends four years carrying the Coyote brand. The moment they leave campus has to be worth keeping.
Solution
The athletic department received the order built for the senior class of one year, and walked away with the design for every senior class after. The brand work, the sizing rhythm, and the personalized-bag rollout all carry forward. What started as a 2025 senior recognition project became the program's standing answer to the question of how to recognize graduating Coyote athletes.
Alexa picked the Core Zero Low Tops as the base design, a customizable platform that didn't lock the design into a single sport's look. The order went into production in Coyote brand colors, individually sized, delivered ahead of senior recognition. Each athlete's pair arrived in a personalized bag printed with their name. The shoe itself stays clean of names so the gift reads as the athletic program's, not as a one-time keepsake.
Coyote red and white had to read as the University of South Dakota at a glance, not as a generic sports school somewhere. That meant pulling the brand specifics from the athletics identity guide instead of building from a logo file. The design moved through approval and 3D mockup with Alexa running point on Coyote brand. Logo placement, brand colors, and the on-foot finish were locked in before production.
Results
A gift built to be worn, not displayed
Most senior gifts get tucked in a drawer. The shoes get worn. Each pair was sized to the individual athlete and shipped in a personalized bag, which made the moment land as personal rather than promotional. Some seniors pull on a jersey one more time after graduation, and most do not. A pair of customized shoes in their team's colors travels with them, into the next chapter of their lives.
Athletes carry the brand past graduation
The custom shoes turned each athlete's final lap as a Coyote into a brand statement that walks off the field. Athletes leave campus wearing the University of South Dakota on their feet. The senior class becomes a 25-strong walking advocate group for the program in the months and years that follow graduation. A jersey ends a career. The shoes carry the brand past it.
The senior gift now repeats every year
A one-off project in 2025 became the model for every class after. Custom Coyote shoes are now part of how the program closes a senior's career. Every graduating athlete gets the same brand finish and per-athlete sizing rhythm, sized and bagged on the program's calendar. The recognition gift has a shoe-shaped fixture in it now, not a one-time campaign expense. The 2025 class set the precedent. Each class after walks into senior week expecting their pair.
"Our senior athletes deserve a gift they'll actually keep. Custom shoes have become part of how we send our seniors off. They get something personal that stays with them long after they leave the University of South Dakota."
Alexa McMillen, Assistant AD for Equipment & Operations, University of South Dakota Athletics
