Vonte Goes Vintage: Former MBB Player Vonte Carter Turns Passion for PSU into Vintage Clothing Resale Business

In 2024, former PSU basketball player Vonte Carter (2017-2019) was searching Goodwill clothing bins for good clothing deals at less than retail.

He was intrigued that he found himself in the company of local clothing resellers who were getting a lot of their merchandise from the same source and that there was a lot of “vintage” clothing in the mix. He started a reselling business of his own.

“I developed a love for vintage clothing and decided to start a collection of Viking sports vintage clothing,” he said. 

Carter, whose day job is In-School Coordinator for Self Enhancement Inc – a program about servicing and empowering youth – decided to develop his own personal collection of PSU sports memorabilia clothing.

And, that collection has led to a collaboration with the PSU Library’s Special Collections and University Archives on a fall term exhibit that goes live tomorrow of vintage Viking sports clothing and other items which will be displayed on the first floor of the Millar Library near the elevators (non-PSU affiliated visitors welcome).

As part of an 80th anniversary celebration, the library wanted to expand beyond photos and documents to include more artifacts from the collection “so the timing of meeting Vonte and learning about this personal PSU collection was perfect,” said Cristine Paschild, head of special collections and university archivist, an associate professor and associate dean.

Besides Carter’s collection, Paschild said there are non-sports related displays from the beginning of the Vanport era through the 1950s, 60s and 70s including College Bowl, the PSU region-wide collegiate winter carnival “and our favorite PSU Bowling shirt.”

Viking sports clothing designs have changed every year, and Clark believes some of the earlier year’s designs were particularly attractive.

A find this last August may have been the final impetus for him to contact PSU.

“In August, I was able to acquire a crazy piece of Portland State sports history. A varsity basketball jacket from 1957, also pictured in the ’57 yearbook,” Carter said.

Most people just collect and sell, but Carter wanted to do something different. So, he contacted the library.

“I think these pieces hold sentimental value, not only to me, but to the university. I want to help build alumni and community connections,” said Carter, a second-generation PSU athlete.

Carter’s mother was a post Title IX member (she gives Title IX a lot of credit) of the PSU women’s basketball team from 1981-1984.

Mary Louise Dickerson (Mary Tompkins today) was a first-generation college student and credits the bachelor’s and master’s degrees she earned as catapulting her into a 40-year career with the Multnomah County Sheriff's department, Portland City Police, City of Portland, DHS Child Welfare and Self Enhancement Inc.

During her career, she’s been an international presenter on Women in Prison, traveling to Russia and New Zealand and taught community-policing in Bangladesh with the Portland Police Bureau.

While researching PSU archives for his sports memorabilia collection, Carter found photos she didn’t know existed of Tompkins as a PSU player.

Tompkins’ PSU experience started Carter on his own PSU adventure.

But, it took some persistence on his part.

He played junior college ball for two years following graduation from Benson High School.

“I took a year off and enrolled at PSU as a student. I had been emailing the coaches non-stop. I would strategically go to the rec center when I knew some of the guys from the team would go. One day, in walks (then assistant coach) Jase Coburn and the rest is history,” said Carter.

Coburn remembers Carter as an elite teammate. “He was one of the reasons we had success and continue to have success now. He was a key part of building our team-first identity as a basketball program. He definitely was strategic about getting on our team. Anyone who gives that much thought, really wants to be part of it, so we were really glad to have him on our team.”

And his two years as a Viking gave Carter an experience he’ll never forget. His first year here, PSU started the season 10-2 and were playing #1 Duke at the PK80 tournament in Portland.

“We had beaten two PAC 12 teams and led #1 Duke for more than half of the game. I got in and hit a 3-pointer, probably the highlight of my college career. Surreal feeling… experiencing one of my childhood dreams come to fruition,” he said.

And, he thinks it’s memories like his (and Tompkins’—she remembers scoring 12 points against Anchorage-Alaska and her first airplane ride going to that game), that he’d like to help other alums and former PSU athletes remember.

“Vonte still supports PSU. He frequently attends our home games, which in our young tradition means absolutely everything to us. To be able to have former players come back and support the current teams is how a tradition can get built,” said Coburn.

For his part, Carter said “PSU impacted my life tremendously. Through my experiences, I’ve been able to build lifelong relationships and connections I truly cherish.”