University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass Exploring New Athletic Logos & Marks
April 29, 2003 | General
April 29, 2003
Amherst, Mass. -- The University of Massachusetts has retained the services of New York City's Phoenix Design Works to explore all logos and marks currently used by the school's 22-sport Division I athletics program and recommend changes if needed. The process, which began in March, is on-going and is not expected to be completed until late May.
Over the years, UMass athletic teams have been known as the Statesmen, Aggies, Redmen (1948) and since 1972, as the Minuteman. When the student body voted to call its athletic teams the Minutemen, the campus sponsored 15 varsity sports for men and only two for women. Today, some 52 percent of UMass' student-athletes are female and the institution sponsors 12 intercollegiate programs for women and 10 for men.
As part of the evaluation process, last Thursday and Friday, 85 individuals (47 men, 38 women) participated in one of eight focus groups held by Phoenix on campus. The focus groups, who were presented with a variety of new Minuteman designs as well as an example of an animal mascot (Gray Wolves), included: members of the UMass student body, UMass Alumni Association members, UMass Athletic Fund contributors, Head Coaches, Senior Staff and student-athletes currently in the Department and members of other University constituencies.
"Once the groups were presented with the evidence concerning the gender-equity issue, they overwhelmingly approved the process of looking beyond the current use of the Minuteman," said Robert Crawford, Phoenix Design Works' Senior Vice President who recently has led similar projects for Notre Dame, Tennessee, Arkansas, Saint Joseph's, the Cincinnati Reds and the NFL among others.
"Phoenix Design found that after an exhaustive search, the UMass Minutemen is currently the only truly gender specific nickname within Division I Athletics," he added.
In Phoenix' opinion, an animal mascot is more marketable and, because it is gender neutral, lends itself to being a more inclusive mascot for the student body at-large and the school's student-athletes. According to Crawford, 90 percent of those participating in the focus groups identified with the need to change the Minuteman mascot because of its gender and the use of the word "man" in the nickname.
"There is no question that the marketing and revenue generating opportunities are factors that contributed to this project, however, the bigger issue was and still remains what's best for the University," Crawford said.
The University is still in the review process and now must sit down and evaluate the feedback it has received to chart a future course for the project. Whichever logo is selected, the Minuteman will still be maintained as a symbol of the University.
"This is very much a work in progress and nothing is cast in stone," UMass Athletic Director Ian McCaw said. "Whatever you come up with, it is important that people embrace it.
"Our goal in all of this is to provide our student-athletes, coaches, fans, alumni and friends with something they can all be proud of and that will also have longevity and marketability."