The bassist for the 1970s groove band Parliament Funkadelic has been in the Mid-South for the past week, touring local TV and radio stations promoting his single, "Fear Da Tigers," which he recently said was an officially licensed ode to the No.1-ranked Memphis Tigers basketball team.

However, despite Collins' claims, University officials denied the song is officially licensed by The University and stated the reason for Collins' local presence was to promote a new t-shirt design. Bob Winn, athletic department media relations director, said a Queenstown, Md.-based sports memorabilia company called SmartArt Fanatics is behind Collins' visit to Memphis.

"The song is not officially licensed by The University. It is to serve as a promo bit to entice T-shirt sales," Winn said. "The shirts, however, are licensed by The University."

In fact, Collins' song wasn't even originally written about the Memphis Tigers. In 2005, Collins co-wrote "Fear Dab Tiger," an anthem that at the time was dedicated to the Cincinnati Bengals, the professional football team from Collins' birth city. The song has also been licensed as a ringtone by a Cincinnati-based wireless service provider.

Collins' song for the Bengals is nearly identical to the one currently being used to promote the Memphis Tigers, save for a few additional lyrics, which were written and rapped by Bengals players in the original version.

The Bengals recorded a video for Collins' anthem back in 2005 featuring the artist performing alongside several members of the team, something he said on a local televised interview that he was interested in doing with the Memphis Tigers, should they make it to the Final Four in San Antonio. His attire in the original video, which can be viewed on Youtube, is strikingly similar to the outfit he has been seen wearing around Memphis, with an all-red zoot suit and matching tiger-striped hat in lieu of the all-blue zoot suit and matching tiger-striped hat that many Memphians have become acquainted with lately.

Even though Collins' anthem may not be "true blue," he isn't without his Memphis roots. Collins' mother is a Memphis native, and he frequently associates with Memphis musicians such as Isaac Hayes. He has also made several appearances at the Memphis in May Beale Street Music Festival with Parliament Funkadelic and George Clinton.

Fred Fillah, the owner of SmartArt Fanatics, said it is not a factor that the song has already been licensed by another sports team.

"I think if the song is a success and people want to hear it, then I think it's worth a shot talking to The University about getting it officially licensed," Fillah said.