Male college student Calendar Published After Trademark Infringement Case Settled

OSU males, not girls, featured in calendar

Stripped of trademark-protected paraphernalia, a calendar featuring scantily clad Ohio State University students is back with a 2001 edition.

But the Scarlet & Gray Girls are not.

An OSU-initiated lawsuit that led to the shredding of some of last year's calendars also led to a change in the content of this year's: no women.

"People purchased that calendar because the girls were Ohio State students. If we can't rely on that as our sales point, it's too hard to compete against the many other female calendars in America,'' said Sean M. Ashbrook, creator of the calendar.

So Ashbrook, a business major at OSU, made the 2001 Campus Men calendar.

All the models are Ohio State students, but no references are made to the school or the Buckeyes. The colors on the athletic jerseys are black and gray; last year's Scarlet & Gray Girls featured OSU apparel.

Sales of the calendar, which has been around since at least the early 1980s, plummeted last year. After a judge ordered Ashbrook to stop selling the calendar, he agreed to destroy remaining copies and to stop using OSU items. OSU then dropped its lawsuit.

This year, Ashbrook, who bills his product as the "calendar that university officials love to hate,'' sent photos from it to OSU lawyers before publication.

"From what I saw, there was no problem with any trademark infringement,'' said Rick Van Brimmer, director of trademark and licensing services for the university. The calendars are sold by the models, who buy them for $6 each and sell them for $12 to $15, keeping the difference for themselves.

Josh Wong, a 20-year-old chemical-engineering student, is Mr. February. He's pictured nude, holding a towel across part of his torso.

"Between Tuesday and Wednesday, I sold 100 of them back to back and made $700 profit,'' Wong said. "I just went to the freshmen dorms and said, 'Hey, have you ever seen Campus Men?' Then I'd be surrounded by a whole floor of girls. It was funny.''

Mr. June, 23-year-old Chad Beldon, said his photograph has brought him calls from modeling agencies. Beldon, a business major, is nude; a hat covers his midsection.

"I've been trying to get in the business for two years, so it's been great,'' he said of modeling, adding that the attention took him by surprise. "I've had chicks come up to me and want me to sign their calendars.''

Josh Bell's photo landed him a spot on Jenny Jones. The 19-year- old business major is Mr. May and also is featured on the cover of the calendar, nude from the waist down and holding a strategically placed basketball.

His freshman yearbook picture at OSU was spotted by the calendar creators, who called him for an audition. Producers of the Jenny Jones show called him after discovering he was in the calendar because they needed someone for a blind date.

Bell said the all-expenses-paid trip to Chicago for the show was fun, but the date wasn't -- especially considering he has a steady girlfriend.