With the dust settled, we set out to compile W&M alums' reactions to the the school's new logos. Huge THANK YOU to Tribal (Mike) for helping out with this, and to everyone here who submitted their reactions.

Check out Tribe Nation's reaction to the changes here -- LET'S GO TRIBE!

Article: https://wmsportsblog.com/2018/08/01/new-...reactions/

Nice job.

This logo is hideous.

This new logo is bold and just what was needed.

Have to disagree here. The school is 325 years old. The existing logo was elegant. None of the Ivies, Virginia, or UNC would be caught dead slapping something like that on a jersey or helmet. I always preferred the scripted, interlocked WM. This logo looks like something youd draw on a cartoon. Straight out of Liberty U. This is a Huge blunder.

Um ... you may want to check out Brown, Columbia, Cornell and Yale:

http://www.sportslogos.net/teams/list_by...a-c/logos/

(08-04-2018 10:07 AM)nj alum Wrote:  Um ... you may want to check out Brown, Columbia, Cornell and Yale:

http://www.sportslogos.net/teams/list_by...a-c/logos/

Was not aware of the Golden Griffins.

(08-04-2018 10:16 AM)TribeNomad Wrote:  [quote='nj alum' pid='15414625' dateline='1533395270']
Um ... you may want to check out Brown, Columbia, Cornell and Yale:

http://www.sportslogos.net/teams/list_by...a-c/logos/

Comparing those four to the awful lettering on our new logo is laughable. Ours is tacky.

What "logo" are you describing as hideous, the WM, or the WM/Griffin/Tribe, or both?

I thought you were referencing the latter, hence my reference to the Ivies that do have the mascot/lettering combo.

If you're referencing the former, I agree ... it is different. Hideous and awful? It'll grow on you!

:-)

The Virginia Gazette had a story on the new logos with a picture of one of the new logos modeled on a jersey on the front page of their Sports section. Frankly, it looks pretty pukey - looks like it was designed by Under Armor!


The use of the nickname "Tribe" was going on for a long time before it became the official name. "Tribe" was frequently used by sportswriters as a substitute for "Indians" [not that there was anything wrong or bad about using the word Indians in those days]. So the "Indians" were frequently referred to as the "Tribe" in the sports pages so there is some history with the usage.


However, on a stand alone basis, it is a poor name for a team, especially from a branding or school name point of view. The name "Tribe" should never be used formally without being used a a modifier, thus "W&M Tribe", "William & Mary Tribe" for all sports related branding.


Stanford University, like W&M, used to be the Indians, with an Indian Chief as their sports Mascot, W&M for a while had Wampo [William & Mary Pony], which was a pony ridden by an Indian Brave who galloped up and down the field for Indian Touchdowns! When Stanford decided to kill off their Indians they decided to go with The Stanford Cardinal because it is colored Red, like their official school colors. The students got to vote on the new mascot and, after many ballots and much debate they selected The Stanford Tree [alluding to the giant sequoia trees that grow in CA]. It is not an "official mascot" but it has been a part of the Stanford sports scene for 40 years or more - it does all the normal mascot stuff [in a Tree costume], it marches with the band attends all the football and basketball games and has pictures taken with the children of alums.


The Stanford Tree is a tongue in cheek mascot but there is a factual connection because Northern California is the habitat of the Giant Sequoia Tree. Also, important to note; there are no other schools with a Tree Mascot, so it is unique to Stanford. I have never liked the Griffin because there is no logical connection with W&M, in spite of efforts to pretend otherwise.

This conversation is a repeat of the long one on these pages the day of the official announcement, which ran on for many pages.

Bottom line is many like it, many don't. Typical for this kind of change as nothing varies more than the eye of the beholder.

But the real bottom line is that this new look is here to stay...especially since it obviously has the strong backing of the new school president, our strong athletic director and, as I found out Friday, the
unanimous approval of the Board of Visitors (who were shown them at their recent meeting).

So, perhaps, time to move to, say, finding a quarterback.

Or maybe a new Board of Visitors. Their judgment is suspect.

As a side note, when was the last time something did not have "unanimous" BoV approval?

I was curious about how I'd feel about the logo once I saw it in person and saw the variety of merchandise. The only clothing they had at the bookstore with the new logo was the multi-colored non-griffin logo printed large on a gray shirt. It was awful.