When a person first enters English teacher Todd Groothuis’ room they may notice a number of things but something that really catches their attention is his massive hat collection.

This collection started with a Washington State hat that he still has. “I loved the look of it. I still have it,” Groothuis said. This collection has been growing for around 30 years. “I have always worn hats, and I have always loved college football. It eventually got out of hand,” Groothuis said when asked about what got this collection started in the first place. This collection sits on the top of the back wall and goes around his desk in the classroom.

In total there are a total of 130 hats in this collection. “My goal is to have all of the Division one BCS schools. I am now behind because they keep adding schools,” Groothuis said. There are 133 schools in the Division according to the NCSA and it is likely that more will be joining the division soon. With the growing division it is easy to get behind.

These hats have been both gifts and purchased by Groothuis himself. The hats were bought by his family as Christmas gifts and birthday gifts for years. “Whenever I traveled, I would head to the local school and buy a hat. A lot of them came off ebay,” said Groothuis.

In this collection there actually is a favorite hat, “My favorite hat is Michigan. I bought it on the day that Bo Schembechler (former Michigan Coach) died,” Groothuis said. This hat has sentimental value to him which makes sense on why it is his favorite. He loves his hat collection so much he once told his class that if there was a fire to grab the hats and run.