The Lounge at Chandler Crossings

New MSU Logo: An Assault on Tradition or A New and Improved Sparty?

If you are apart of the Michigan State community, you have undoubtedly heard the controversy surrounding the impending new MSU logo.  If you have not, let me quickly get you up to speed so you can share the news with your roommate in your MSU student apartment.

Recently, a new Michigan State Spartan logo appeared on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website.  A day later, MSU Athletic Director Mark Hollis and other officials confirmed that the logo change is a part of a “comprehensive brand and identity project” to be unveiled in April.  The logo switch is what an internal memo called “the result of a two year collaboration between MSU Athletics and a team of top designers from Nike.”  The logo (as seen) seems to display an angrier looking design than the previous one.  The Detroit Lions, last year, also made a switch to an “angrier looking” logo. 

Reaction to the new logo has stirred up a lot of interest in Spartan Nation.  Most of the opinions about the impending switch have been negative.  The State News recently polled readers about what they thought about the change.  An overwhelming 94% of people who participated in the polls preferred the old logo to the new one.  In the majority of the blog entries, newspaper articles and editorials that I read called the new logo an “assault on tradition,” “a lost of Spartan pride and identity,” or a function of Nike greed. 

When it comes to the tradition point, those upset Spartans have a valid argument. When the logo is changed, it will most likely replace the old logo on the sides of the MSU football helmet.  There are few sports that can compare to the tradition of college football.  By changing the helmet, some MSU fans feel that they would be losing some of the tradition.  Some might argue that you do not see the school’s biggest football rivals (Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State) changing uniforms, do we?  If we want to be like those traditional football powers, we keepp the traditions (and thus the look) of what made us great. 

Since specifics of this agreement between Nike and MSU has sparse, some fear that Nike will own the right to this new Spartan logo.  That has made local retailers of Spartan apparel nervous.  Instead of dealing with MSU, they might have to deal with Nike to make sure they can get the latest Spartan gear on their shelves.  Also consider all of the local business around here (i.e. Spartan Hall of Fame Cafe, for example) that may have to change their Spartan logos to match the University’s logo. 

It is obvious that MSU and Nike have some type of financial agreement when it comes to this redesign.  In an argument for the switch, do not forget that MSU and the Athletic Department have a lot of bills to pay.  With higher coaches salaries, building and faculty expansions, and 20 varsity sports to support, a lot of times the costs can outweigh the available revenue outlets.  Such a deal with Nike can only help the University’s bottom line. 

What do you think?  Where are you on this issue? Poll your roommates in your MSU apartment and let us know.

–Shaun Holness

Tags: MSU and Nike, MSU logo, MSU logo change, MSU new logo, MSU spartan helmet

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 26th, 2010 at 2:18 pm and is filed under MSU News and Announcements. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.