NCAA - Grambling State University
Grambling State U. to Introduce New "G" Logo
GRAMBLING, La. -- After letting rights lapse to its
familiar "G" on football helmets, Grambling State
University is planning to introduce a new logo for the
first time in decades -- much to the consternation of
some fans.
Since the rights to the logo lapsed, outside vendors
can produce and sell items with the logo, all without
giving a dime to the school.
"Grambling paraphernalia sells all over the country.
We're losing money hand over fist," said football coach
Melvin Spears.
Athletics director Willie Jeffries confirmed the logo
change, and said an unveiling could come as early as
this week.
Some school supporters have a notable lack of
enthusiasm.
"Brand identity is not something to play with," said
1990 Grambling graduate Kenn Rashad, who operates a Web
site devoted to the Southwestern Athletic Conference
called SWACPage. "Establishing a successful brand isn't
something that can happen overnight."
Since the 1980s, Grambling used an oval-shaped "G" on
its football helmets similar to that of the NFL's Green
Bay Packers and the NCAA's Georgia Bulldogs, except in
color scheme. Grambling featured a black-and-gold
palette, sometimes circled with an accent of red.
But government records show Grambling lost the
© on that logo almost seven years ago, as well
as protection for its school seal.
Once the lapse was discovered by new Grambling
president Horace Judson, plans to change the logo got
under way, according to Jeffries.
"The big 'G' will still be in play," Spears said.
"But we've got to do some things that make sure our logo
is identified only with us, not with Green Bay or
Georgia, as well. The 'G' will still be on the helmet.
It will be a form of that, with a tiger as well."
Jeffries said updated helmets will be ready in time
for football season, and the design will be standard
across all university-sponsored sports.
Still, the university administration has been
peppered with e-mail protests about the plan.
"It's a sad day," said Grambling booster John
Wilborn. "I know that some individuals think we are too
close to the Green Bay and Georgia 'G.' The color,
however, is the difference."
Grambling supporters abuzz about new logo
GRAMBLING -- Grambling State supporters are still
digesting quick administrative approval for the first
new athletic logo in decades.
They have questioned how aggressively GSU worked to
regain a lost © on the old design -- and what
the school did to forecast the profits from a new logo.
They also would like to know why more boosters
weren't brought into the loop.
"I wonder who they consulted with?" said Paul Taylor,
who never misses a GSU home game. "I stay in Grambling
and have not heard anything about a logo change."
Several supporters, including Taylor, praised an
innovative on-line poll being conducted by Marquette
that will actually allow fans to decide its new
nickname.
The traditional "G" logo is being replaced, athletics
director Willie Jeffries confirmed earlier this week,
because GSU's 1974 trademark has lapsed. That has
allowed outside vendors to produce and sell
Grambling-related items without giving any revenue to
the school.
Some fans, including 1983 graduate D'Wayne L.
Priestley Sr., want to know why the school doesn't
simply renew the trademark -- and then aggressively
pursue those who are using the old logo unlawfully.
In an e-mail sent to school president Horace Judson
on Tuesday night, then forwarded to dozens of GSU
boosters, Priestley asked: "If a feasibility study or
similar analysis has been conducted that indicates that
a modification would be advantageous and will bring
significant revenue streams, please present or provide
that data."
No official response has come from GSU, because the
school hasn't issued an announcement about the new logo
-- and the top administrators aren't returning phone
messages from The News-Star regarding the switch.
But university spokeswoman Vickie Jackson answered
Priestley's e-mail later on Tuesday, and Priestley again
forwarded it across the country.
In it, Jackson indicated that GSU is at work on a
visual standards guide, which will include the
university logo, signature, motto, presidential seal,
color and the mascot. The logo switch, she wrote, is
part of a larger attempt to standardize the school's
overall look.
"The modification of the athletic logo is but one
part of a total branding process," Jackson wrote. "GSU
is a step behind almost every university in the country
in branding and standardizing its look."
She added that members of the Office of Alumni
Affairs, the president of the alumni association, the
athletic department and student representatives were all
involved in the project.
Not all fans were outraged.
"Sometimes change is good," said Scott A. Lewis III,
a former All-American at Grambling who was selected in
the second round of the 1971 draft by Kansas City. "In
the commercial side of business, promotions tend to draw
more interest than inactivity."
He then laughed, and added: "I am still making the
transition from Grambling College to GSU!"
These articles were taken from
www.espn.com and
www.thetowntalk.com. All rights
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