We are a few days removed from the unveiling of Dayton’s new logo and the results have been abysmal. To be kind.
A trusty reader forwarded me this press release from the “Drop the V” Campaign. Take a moment to read it and let it marinate:
“Drop the V” Campaign Takes Flight!
On Friday July 18th, the University of Dayton unveiled a new Dayton Flyers Athletics logo, UD Arena floor design, basketball uniforms and updated colors. Even beforeFriday’s 1pm unveiling at UD Arena, however, unrest across current University students and alumni was developing at fast pace due to leaked photos of the logo on the internet.
Several blogs and social media outlets began to snicker and jeer the new logo for what, to some onlookers, appears to be a “V” in front of the new “D” logo. According to University officials, the “V” is a graphical representation of wings. As stated on UD’s new daytontrueteam.com website, “the wings serve as a nod to the city of Dayton, the birthplace of flight, and the way Flyers play – fast and fearless.”
Within hours of the official logo release, a large, well-organized and growing faction of UD Alumni created a “Drop the V” campaign. The campaign is hitting blogs, social media outlets and sending requests into the University to consider one of two mild alterations to the released logo. Here is the press statement from campaign managers:
“We, a representation of UD Alumni and current students, would like to express our sincere appreciation to the administration for leading and delivering a fresh look for University of Dayton Athletics. While no change of this magnitude will ever delight 100% of the rabid Dayton Flyers fan base, a very large contingent of the Flyer Faithful believe the colors, uniforms, lettering and aspects of the new logo are well done.
With that being said, the addition of wings to the new ‘D’ logo is a major concern. The wedge shape of the wings appear to form a “V”, causing many to view the logo as stating “VD”. This is unfortunate to say the least. Using a series of quick surveys and proprietary analytics software over the last 24 hours, it is believed that the University stands to see a decrease of over 50% in revenues generated from purchases of apparel using the new official winged logo. The substantial drop in revenues will come from fans purchasing “gray market” apparel using alternative logos. Our concern as a student and alumni base, is that the very attempt to freshen, consolidate and strengthen branding with the new look will unfortunately create quite the opposite effect. It may also subject future Flyers athletics teams to hostile “You have (clap) (clap) VD” chants on the road.
Therefore, we have developed two modified logos that we would like the University to consider working into the family of logos and marks, as the administration rolls out the next wave of marketing collateral and apparel. Images of these modified marks are attached. Thank you for your consideration. We are UD!”
So there you have it, our own little Tea Party. Your feelings on the logo are irrelevant, it is here to stay. The check has been signed, cashed and spent. Your viewpoint on the “Drop the V” campaign is immaterial as well. Whether they achieve success in their pursuit is essentially a side note.
The fact that there is a movement afoot to already modify the barely hatched logo is an indication of just how much of a fuckup this whole roll-out has been.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not that emotionally invested in the new logo as most seem to be. However, this site has repeatedly discussed the desperate need for a logo update and it is safe to say the UD administration completely dropped the ball on its’ implementation. The University of Dayton “text” logo was one of the worst in college sports. The ceiling for its improvement was comically low, and this is the best they could come up with? [ref]What were the other options? Were there other options?[/ref]
Let’s hope this campaign blossoms into a legitimate sect of our fan base, who doesn’t enjoy watching the world burn?
[info_message style=”info”]“A logo change was long overdue,” said Matt Hager, a 2004 UD grad who lives in Columbus. “The old look was dated from pretty much the time it was unveiled in the 1990s. The (new) logo is a missed opportunity. It’s better than the previous but still not great.”[/info_message]
Tom Blackburn
Tom Blackburn is a proud U. o' D. alum. He loses faith in humanity one day at a time, but not in you, you seem like you are all kinds of alright. Charter member of the T-Man fanclub.