MONMOUTH, Ill. — Don Capener, assistant professor of political economy and commerce at Monmouth College, figured to have his hands full with a one-year stint as the resident director of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest’s (ACM) Japan Study program.

After all, in addition to acting as dean of students for the 36 Japan Study participants from the ACM and the Great Lakes Colleges Association, Capener teaches classes at Waseda University in subjects such as international management and the business of sports. He also gives special lectures – in Japanese, no less – at the university’s School of Engineering and School of Sports Science.

But Capener has found time to do even more during his year abroad, helping bring a sports apparel business to Japan. It’s a natural fit for Capener, who helped launch the Above The Rim apparel line in the U.S. nearly 20 years ago.

"One of my students, a Korean student named Jesse Lee, approached me last fall about starting a company that would provide licensed goods in Japan," said Capener. "While it’s very common in the U.S. to walk around campuses like ours and see all kinds of apparel for schools like the University of Illinois or the University of Iowa, it’s a very undeveloped product in Japan. You just don’t see a lot of that kind of stuff."

However, that could change soon. Lee started selling a Waseda University letterjacket last December, and his original 500-coat order immediately led to five more orders of 500 coats apiece. He recently received his first order for 1,000 wool baseball caps.

"I came up with this idea of a school letterman jacket since wearing school apparel has been so natural in my background," said Lee, a junior at Waseda, who lived in the U.S. for nine years. "When I came to Tokyo, I was surprised to see that everyone just walks around wearing normal clothes, even at ballgames where you should be wearing your school colors and maybe go a little crazy."

Lee’s company is called Daigaku Sports, and Capener explained that "daigaku" is Japenese for college or university.

"I helped Jesse with the logo development and with his business plan, such as where to distribute the product," said Capener. "I also helped the university understand what a licensing agreement is. They really had no idea. This was the first licensing agreement they’d ever done."

"I was so lucky that I was in his course last fall," said Lee of Capener. "I could not have even started this thing if it weren’t for him. He has inspired me to open my eyes to look at this idea in a business way. And so far, his class has been my favorite among all the courses that I have taken at Waseda. He has been a very active, passionate instructor, and I am sure that a lot of people here will feel sorry when he goes back to America this summer."

Lee hopes to take his school sports apparel idea to other major universities in Japan, starting with the Tokyo area, and then eventually spreading out his to native Korea.

In his year abroad, Capener has even found time to squeeze in one more task besides teaching, lecturing and assisting Lee. He is working on contacts for future student trips to Japan, which he views as a major element of Monmouth College’s relatively new international business major. He was also happy to report that one of the college’s first graduates in that major, Andy Klootwyk, lives in Japan and works at Nova Corp.