By Charlotte Ormond

As the 2024-25 Maryland men’s basketball regular season came to a close, the sense of anticipation was palpable.

Throughout the season, home game attendance was noticeably low, but by the start of the NCAA Tournament, in which the Terps qualified as a 4-seed, things began to change. 

Students were racing across campus — on foot, scooters and in cars — hoping to secure a T-shirt featuring artwork of the team’s starting lineup, dubbed the “Crab Five,” a Maryland spinoff of the University of Michigan’s iconic “Fab Five” from the early 1990s.

Milan Chaudhary, a junior marketing major, designed the viral Crab Five shirt, spurring the surge in student support for the team.

A devoted Maryland fan, Chaudhary spotted an opportunity to support the team and build a brand, and he ran with it.

“It seemed like this team might do something big, so it was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing,” Chaudhary said.

Chaudhary’s design journey started long before the Crab Five came to life, going back to his sophomore year of high school. He began experimenting with mobile apps like Picsart and learned that clothing offered a powerful way to share his designs with a wider audience.

“The shirt part was important to me because that was the way I could get my designs to people, like physically,” Chaudhary said.

Growing up in Damascus, Chaudhary noted that sports were a major part of the community, and he used his designs to amplify the excitement around local games. 

As his business gained traction, he landed his first feature on the news during his senior year of high school, recognized for the shirts he created when the Damascus High School boys’ basketball team made it to a local championship, foreshadowing the success he would later find in College Park.

In 2019, Chaudhary founded his clothing line Brown Boy Nation. He created the company after noticing a lack of representation for Indian streetwear in the fashion industry. 

However, for Chaudhary, the meaning behind BBN has changed over the years as he has expanded his target market.

“I don’t want to make a brand that’s limited to one type of audience,” Chaudhary said. “It’s me as an Indian, working with masses of people and hopefully establishing credibility as an Indian designer.”

Since founding BBN, Chaudhary said he has established connections with notable figures, including LeBron James’ son, Bryce James, the family of former NBA star Carmelo Anthony, and Beyoncé’s stylist, Zerina Akers.

Chaudhary said he sees potential in young athletes and believes in the importance of establishing connections with their community. He said BBN stays active on social media by regularly engaging with fans through comments and messages. Sometimes, those interactions lead to big ideas.

A fan messaged Chaudhary on social media, suggesting the idea of creating Crab Five merch. The graphic he designed quickly went viral on X and, before he knew it, he was signing NIL deals with all five players and the university itself.

To spread the word, Chaudhary partnered with UMD’s mascot, Testudo, to host giveaways throughout campus. Chaudhary would leave a shirt in one of his favorite study spots and post a hint on social media, prompting mad dashes from students to grab the shirt within seconds.

“That’s the future of this stuff. You’ve got to engage the students because at the end of the day, they’re the ones at the university,” Chaudhary said.

Ben Vorsteg, a senior marketing major and longtime Maryland basketball supporter, secured the first giveaway.

Despite his own enthusiasm, Vorsteg noted that many students he spoke with had not heard of the Crab Five until the T-shirts were created.

“I love the Maryland basketball team with my entire heart, and my friends and I have been big Crab Five fans since the term was coined,” Vorsteg said.

Even Chaudhary’s mother, who does not typically watch basketball, found herself tuning in when her son’s designs started appearing on her TV screen.

Chaudhary credits much of his success to the Robert H. Smith School of Business. After struggling to balance his academics with the demands of a growing business, Chaudhary said he’s come to recognize the importance of education.

Joseph P. Bailey, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs at the Smith School, has worked with Chaudhary and recognizes his entrepreneurial spirit. 

“[Chaudhary] is somebody who is really resourceful, and he’s able to be incredibly agile and seize opportunities and follow through. And his work ethic is kind of off the charts,” Bailey said. “I’m so proud of him.”

Bailey noted that success stories like Chaudhary’s are used in the Smith School to motivate other students to begin their own business ventures. 

Chaudhary said he raised over $10,000 in profits from the T-shirts and donated 70% of it directly to the players on the team.

Featured image: Milan Chaudhary poses with his famed Crab Five T-shirt. Photo by Joseph Conaty.