The University of Michigan canceled its license for Steve & Barry's to make apparel under the college's name and logo. The report comes as news reports indicate that Steve & Barry's may filed for Chapter 11 protection this week. Late last month, The Wall Street Journal reported that the retailer hired a bankruptcy lawyer, and was seeking at least $30 million in rescue financing to avoid filing for bankruptcy.

U-M said it decided not to renew its license with Steve & Barry's supplier, 4004 Inc. The license expired June 30, and U-M is negotiating with the company on a timeline for how long Michigan-licensed apparel can continue to be sold in the stores, Kristen Ablauf, the university's director of licensing, told Ann Arbor News.

“We had some concerns with (Steve & Barry's) ability to fulfill their licensing requirements,'' said Ablauf, who would not specify the university's concerns or the licensing requirements.

“We review all of our licensing agreements as each comes up for renewal,'' she said. “We have to look at each of them and make a decision as to whether or not it's in the university's best interest for any company to continue to be a licensee.''

Separately, the U-M student newspaper – The Michigan Daily – is no longer accepting advertising from Steve & Barry's because the store owes $20,326 for advertisements taken out during the 2006-07 school year, when it was the paper's single largest advertiser.