UT-Tyler Shares New Concepts For Athletics Logo With SGA

Source: SGA YouTube Page

Proofs of concept for UT-Tyler Athletics' new logo. These are not final drafts. (Source: SGA YouTube Page)

*The author is an opinion journalist and cannot guarantee objectivity in his reporting. Please read critically.

UT-Tyler presented design concepts for a new athletics logo at student government’s meeting Tuesday.

VP of Marketing and Communications Jeffrey Noblitt, along with Athletics Director Howard Patterson and Design Director Karen Schmidt of Edleman, a New York-based marketing firm, presented The Student Government Association (SGA) with over twelve black and white concepts of what a new athletics logo could look like.  

The leaders said they intend to obtain input from university stakeholders in the coming weeks and have already shared these images with faculty senate executive committee. Eventually they will share the refined versions with the student body at large for feedback at later date. 

As Soon As Summer

Nevertheless, students could begin to see changes to the athletic logo as soon as this summer.

“I would not expect any kind of a deployment of whatever is finalized and approved and launched to be immediate,” Noblitt told SGA, “but I think there are opportunities, especially in between seasons to have some cost effective, cost savings deployments of a new mark.”

“We’re moving pretty quickly,” Noblitt said. “There’s(sic) coaches that are anxious to order new uniforms and there’s an opportunity for some of the environmental branding, including in the Patriot Center. So we are moving quickly, but I feel like we are moving forward inclusively and I really value your thoughts and feedback.” 

The Design

For now, the designs are colorless, but Noblitt said the team will incorporate color at a later design stage.  

 

(Source: SGA's YouTube page)

He said graphic incorporation of Swoop into the new logo is important to the work group, along with drawing upon classic UT-Tyler symbols that have been important throughout the institution’s history. For example, the academic shield, eagle talons and the single star were all considerations in the new design concept. It is also his goal that the new logo fit harmoniously within a larger ecosystem of UT-System symbols. 

He stressed that the design is a work in progress and the importance of hearing from students. 

“This is something that is not just for our athletics,” he said. “It becomes our institutional spirit mark, and as students you are the keepers of that spirit flame. And so you have that important perspective for us.”  

Swoop

After the presentation, the work group asked for members’ feedback and invited questions. 

Student government Vice-President Landry Smith asked if there were any plans to change the university mascot Swoop as well. 

Patterson said, “The mascot is fairly fresh in its current costume, but if there is a feeling that we need to take a look at that, a general consensus, then we’d certainly be willing to do that.”

Flag T Logo

Smith also asked what the group’s plans were to include the current Flag T logo into the new concept.
Schmidt said that the design team is trying to incorporate the Flag T, but was having trouble making it work with the overall design.

“We did talk about this,” she said. “Actually, some of our first marks were trying to figure out how to incorporate the T itself. It feels really disjointed, so what we’re trying to do is pull other [brand] equities in, make sure we bring other things that nod to that so that you’re not leaving it all behind.”

“It’s really good to hear that some of you guys feel it is still really important that we’re bringing some of that [brand] equity through. So we’ll do our best to keep pushing that,” she said.

Student Body President Katherine Jennings told the work group, “I definitely appreciate you guys coming to speak with us. We love the opportunity to provide feedback and the transparency that you and your team have provided throughout this process. Thank you very much.”  

Watch the full meeting on SGA’s YouTube page here.

SGA welcomes comment to its email address at sga@uttyler.edu.

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Twitter: @jhescock12

What do you think about the new designs? Let me know in the comments below.

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