Herff Jones is an American company that manufactures and sells educational recognition and achievement products and motivational materials, and has been in continuous operation since 1920. Herff Jones maintains production facilities across the United States as well as in Canada, and has a network of over 700 independent sales representatives. The company and its subsidiaries have also been involved in top-level

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

and professional sports, having manufactured the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

(via acquired company

Dieges & Clust Dieges & Clust were jewellers established in New York in 1898 by Col. Charles Joseph Dieges (b. Oct. 26, 1865-d. Sept. 14, 1953) and Prosper Clust (b. Sept. 26, 1873-d. Mar. 28, 1933). History The firm was founded in 1898 as a partnership betwee ...

), and

championship ring A championship ring or premiership ring is a ring presented to members of winning teams in North American professional sports leagues, and college tournaments. Championship rings are mostly confined to North American sports. Since only one ...

s for the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

, the 2007 Indianapolis Colts, and the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

, as well as the medals for the

1960 Winter Olympics The 1960 Winter Olympics (officially the VIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Squaw Valley 1960) were a winter multi-sport event held from February 18 to 28, 1960, at the Squaw Valley Resort (now known as Palisades Tahoe) in Squaw Vall ...

at Squaw Valley, among others.

History

Harry J. Herff and Randall H. Jones founded Herff Jones in Indianapolis, Indiana on January 6, 1920. The company manufactured insignia jewelry and class rings. 1974: Herff Jones was bought by Carnation Company, itself a unit of Nestle. 1979: Acquired the Collegiate Cap & Gown Company, established at 100 N. Market St., Champaign, Ill. in 1926, specializing in formal caps, formal gowns, robes, frames, tassels, judicial robes, clergy robes, choir robes, cassocks, surplices, albs, communion robes, and choir accessories. 1980: Acquired

1985: A company owned by A.J. Hackl, then president of Herff Jones bought the company from

Carnation ''Dianthus caryophyllus'' (), commonly known as the carnation or clove pink, is a species of ''Dianthus''. It is likely native to the Mediterranean region but its exact range is unknown due to extensive cultivation for the last 2,000 years.Med ...

. 1989: established an

employee stock ownership plan Employee stock ownership, or employee share ownership, is where a company's employees own shares in that company (or in the parent company of a group of companies). US employees typically acquire shares through a share option plan. In the UK, Em ...

(ESOP), becoming a 100% employee-owned company by 1995. 2011: sold the Photography Division to

Lifetouch Lifetouch Inc. is an American-based photography company headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, with its Canadian operations based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It was founded as National School Studios (NSS) in 1936 by Eldon ...

. In 2011, Herff Jones merged with

Varsity Brands Varsity Brands, Inc. is an American apparel company owned by Bain Capital. It is primarily focused on academic apparel and memorabilia, with its operations split among three major subsidiaries, including Herff Jones—a manufacturer of products suc ...

, owner of the

cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

and

school spirit School spirit is the sense of identity and community shared by members of an educational institution. This can apply to any type of school, from elementary schools to universities. Members of a school can manifest spirit in the exhibition of sc ...

company

Varsity Spirit Varsity Spirit, LLC, also known as Varsity, is an American cheerleading company owned by Varsity Brands. Founded in 1974 as the Universal Cheerleaders Association, the company is a manufacturer of apparel for cheerleading and dance teams, organiz ...

. In 2013, the company acquired uniform manufacturer BSN Sports. In 2014 the company rebranded itself under the Varsity Brands name, with Herff Jones becoming a subsidiary. In July 2014, the Nystrom brand was sold to Social Studies School Service, a social studies company in California. The assets of Replogle Globes, part of the Education Division, were sold to Replogle Globes Partners in September. In 2018,

was acquired by

Bain Capital Bain Capital is an American private investment firm based in Boston. It specializes in private equity, venture capital, credit, public equity, impact investing, life sciences, and real estate. Bain Capital invests across a range of industry se ...

Data breach

In May 2021, Herff Jones was the victim of a cyber attack. As part of this breach, customers' usernames, passwords, and credit card information were stolen. In response. Herff Jones shut down the misconfigured server and encouraged customers to monitor their card account statements and credit reports for instances of unauthorized activity.

References

Manufacturing companies established in 1920 Manufacturing companies based in Indianapolis 1920 establishments in Indiana Design companies established in 1920 {{US-manufacturing-company-stub