A custom-built electric guitar, designed and assembled in Purdue Polytechnic's Guitar Lab by Professor Mark French, will serve as a season-long tribute to the late Indianapolis Colts Owner and CEO, Jim Irsay. The Colts’ 2025 team mantra is "Win for Jim."
The idea was conceived by Shane Steichen, the Colts head coach, as a way to honor Irsay's passion for music and his legacy. "Even though he's not physically with us anymore, he's always with us in spirit," Steichen told Colts.com writer JJ Stanevitz. "And that's part of him traveling with us, every game."
Carlie Irsay-Gordon, current Colts owner and daughter of Jim Irsay, spoke to the team about her father’s legacy on Labor Day. Immediately after, Steichen presented her with the guitar. "Hey," Steichen said, "we got one more thing to honor your dad this season."
To bring the vision to life, Steichen collaborated with French, a professor in the School of Engineering Technology and the head of the Purdue Guitar Lab. According to French, the project was first envisioned by Purdue alumnus Noah Scott, who had previously initiated the successful project to build a guitar from the wood of Mackey Arena's basketball court.
With a compressed schedule, French agreed to take on the project. He sourced the parts, prepped the guitar body, and spent Labor Day weekend in the Guitar Lab completing the final assembly and solving unexpected technical challenges.
The guitar's authentic Colts appearance was a collaboration with local Lafayette businesses. Freckles Graphics produced the decals, while Prime Body and Paint applied the specific Pantone blue color coat and the final clear coat. Scott also sourced unique white guitar strings to complete the Colts' color scheme before delivering the finished instrument to the team. “Noah even found a supplier for white guitar strings to match the Colts colors,” French said.
Each week, Steichen will present the blue, horseshoe-emblazoned guitar to a chosen player, who will carry it into the stadium as a symbol of Irsay's enduring presence with the team.
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