By: Michael Goss
Purchase Season Tickets | 2023 Schedule
KENNESAW, Ga. – Kennesaw State baseball is set to debut a special on-field hat for its series finale with Long Island University on Sunday, Feb. 26. The item was designed by KSU baseball fan and alumnus, Patrick Vickers.
Vickers grew up outside of Durham, N.C. and graduated from Appalachian State University with a major in urban planning and minor in geography. A longtime supporter of KSU Athletics, he has lived in Kennesaw since 1992 and earned a master's degree in public administration from Kennesaw State. Â
"I started collecting baseball hats after I got my first real job in 1984," said Vickers. "I was 16 and bought an 'on-field' hat for my hometown minor league baseball team, the Durham Bulls. Soon after that, I purchased my very first New York Mets fitted hat which I had on my head the night they won the World Series in 1986."Â
Vickers, whose collection surpasses 3,700 items, has dreamed of designing his own "on-field" piece of headwear. This season, Kennesaw State baseball head coach Ryan Coe will turn his dream into a reality.
"Several years ago, I had a conversation with then-coach Mike Sansing about a design I had in mind for a hat for the baseball team," expressed Vickers. "He [Sansing] told me to send him the design and we'd discuss it, but I never got past the crude drawing stages. When I met Coach Coe last year, I mentioned this to him and took the time to put together three 'concepts' with different front logo options. I then sat down with Coach [Coe] and he selected the one he liked best."
The design Coe selected followed a model used by the 1969-1991 Montreal Expos. It is classified in the "pinwheel" category of baseball caps.
"I would like to thank Patrick for his support of our baseball program," said Coe. "He put a lot of effort into designing this hat for the team and I think it will be unique to wear an on-field hat that was designed by one of our fans. Everyone loved the old-school Expos uniforms and when I saw his design, I thought it would be neat to bring that style to KSU."
Fans can catch the Owls debut the pinwheels on Feb. 26 versus Long Island University. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. inside Stillwell Stadium. Click here to purchase tickets.
Season tickets for the 2023 season are still available and feature matchups against seven teams that advanced to the NCAA Regionals in 2022 and seven Power 5 programs. Click here to secure your seats today.
To keep up with the latest on the Kennesaw State baseball team, follow the team on Twitter @KSUOwlNation and @KSUOwlsBaseball or by liking Kennesaw State University on Facebook and Instagram.
