The red shirts, with black text reading "VICK 'EM" on the front in a reference to the Aggies' slogan "Gig 'em," were created by a Tech student who said he has sold roughly 300 of the shirts ahead of Saturday's game against Texas A&M in Lubbock.

The back shows a football player, wearing Michael Vick's No. 7, hanging the mascot Reveille from the end of her leash. The suspended NFL quarterback has pleaded guilty to a federal dogfighting charge, admitting that he helped kill six to eight dogs.

"You can't make light of a situation like that," Texas Tech media relations spokesman Chris Cook said. "That is in poor taste and poor judgment."

A&M officials, in a statement, thanked Tech administrators for "their response and action regarding this matter."

The shirt's creator, Geoffrey Candia, declined to comment in an e-mail to The Associated Press. He said he may make a statement after meeting with the dean of students today.

He told The Battalion, A&M's newspaper, that the university prohibited sale of the shirts on campus through his fraternity. He said he wanted to give 50 percent of the proceeds to a Lubbock animal defense league "because we knew there would be a controversy about the shirts, you know, animal rights, stuff like that."

Candia told the newspaper about 300 had been sold.

In a posting on his Facebook page at about 4 a.m. today, Candia wrote: "a little tshirt get aggies all worked up... its a t-shirt people!"

The controversy comes about 2 1/2 months after Gerald Myers, Tech's athletic director, announced a campaign to promote good sportsmanship across the campus and at athletic events. The campaign centers around the phrase "honor, respect, pride and tradition."

Myers did not immediately return a call seeking comment today.

Robyn Katz, president of Tech's chapter of the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund, said her organization "wouldn't take a dime" from Candia.