Custom cross country hoodies and sweatshirts are the highest-value items in any XC team shop. Runners grab them immediately post-race, wear them through the cool-down, and keep them through the off-season as a reminder of the program. At Bear Grips Pro Shops, programs order hoodies with no minimum and free shipping to each buyer. The shop earns a set margin on every order without managing a single box.
Cross country programs typically choose between pullover hoodies and zip-up hoodies based on the primary use case. Pullover hoodies are the warmer, more casual choice and tend to sell at higher volume for general team gear. Zip-up hoodies are preferred for coaches, team managers, and runners who need to layer up or down quickly before and after races.
The Bear Grips catalog hoodie options for XC programs:
Cross country sweatshirt designs follow the same conventions as team shirts but with a few considerations specific to the larger canvas and heavier-weight garment.
The back print is the most visible element on a cross country sweatshirt: the team name and year in a bold athletic typeface, centered, with the program mascot or XC symbol above it. This is the standard because it reads clearly when a runner wears the sweatshirt post-race while facing away from the crowd in the finish corral.
For the front: a small left-chest logo or program abbreviation. Larger front graphics work too, but a chest logo keeps the sweatshirt versatile for everyday wear beyond the season.
Cross country sweatshirt ideas that photograph well for social media: a bold state name or "State 2026" as the dominant front text, with program details on the back. These designs create natural social media content when the team wears them together post-competition.
See the cross country shirt design ideas guide for full slogan and layout recommendations that apply equally to hoodies and sweatshirts.
Bear Grips Pro Shops: Custom Apparel for Your Team. No Minimums. Free Shipping.Both crewneck sweatshirts and hoodies have a place in a cross country team shop. The practical differences:
Crewneck sweatshirts are slightly lighter and more casual. They layer well under a jacket for cold-morning cross country practices and are preferred by runners who find the hood distracting during warm-up runs. The Unisex Champion Crewneck Sweatshirt and the Youth Crewneck Sweatshirt (Gildan) are the main options in the catalog.
Hoodies are warmer, more protective in wind, and preferred by most runners immediately post-race when the body temperature drops quickly. They are also more popular with parents and family members as fan gear purchases. A program that only offers one of the two should choose the hoodie for maximum sales volume.
The optimal shop configuration: list both. Let runners and families choose. The marginal additional work of adding the crewneck to your shop is less than an hour, and many families will buy both pieces in the same order if the price difference is clear.
Cross country meet logistics create specific moments where branded hoodies matter beyond just apparel sales. Runners use hoodies in the pre-race warm-up window, in the holding corral before gun time, and immediately post-race while the body cools. A team that wears matching branded hoodies is visually cohesive in all three of these moments.
Coordinated post-race photos of a team in matching hoodies are among the most shared pieces of social content for high school and club XC programs. These images drive enrollment interest and community visibility for the program. The hoodie functions as both merchandise and marketing material when designed well.
For coaches and program directors: a dedicated "Coach" or "Staff" version of the team hoodie with "Coach" embroidered on the sleeve or chest creates a clear visual hierarchy at meets without requiring a completely different garment. Bear Grips Pro Shops lets you add a coaching-specific product variant to the same shop.
Pullover and zip-up hoodies with your team logo. No minimum, no inventory. Set up your program shop free.
Start FreeYes. No minimum on any item. A small JV squad of 8 runners can order 8 hoodies at the same per-item price as a varsity program ordering 50. All ship individually to each buyer.
The Unisex Champion Performance Hoodie is the premium pick for high school programs. The Bear Grips Comfort Soft Hoodie covers the budget range. Both are available with custom team printing through Bear Grips Pro Shops.
The team name and year in bold type as the dominant back print. A small program logo or abbreviation on the front chest. Optional: event name or "State [Year]" as a front statement for milestone sweatshirts.
Both. Hoodies sell at higher volume and are the post-race staple. Crewnecks are preferred by some runners for warmup runs and by parents who want a lighter-weight fan piece. Offering both maximizes revenue per shop visitor.
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