It's us (Valpo)

[ORU Eli]

I don't like the Eli logo...it just screams small christian college - its way too cute and cuddly...I'm proud of who we are but I don't think it's a bad idea to make it a little more fearsome or add some mystique...Marquette and Southern Miss both have Golden Eagle logos that I think are much more appropriate for D1 athletic programs

[ORUTex]

I don't like the Eli logo...it just screams small christian college - its way too cute and cuddly...

I agree with Foghorn, I mean Eli.

Kind of an ironic person to be lodging that complaint, though.

[praetorfenix86]

sir, i said sir

[ORU Eli]

I've never liked it...the entire time I was wearing the suit I wished I looked more fearsome and not like a big cuddly chicken.

[Guest Rob Marshall]

I've never liked it...the entire time I was wearing the suit I wished I looked more fearsome and not like a big cuddly chicken.

I wonder if KU fans felt the same way about the Jayhawk when it was introduced? Arriving at a mark like KU's was the goal when Eli was birthed, and even then some in and around the athletic department thought we should have been going with something more abstract like Kansas State's Wildcat rather than the Kansas Jayhawk.

The above mentioned concerns about looking unstable I'm sure plays strongly in Mike Carter's determination to stay the course with Eli. For that, I don't blame him one bit. If you flop around changing things every ten years, you never allow that little thing called tradition to grow and develop into a Kansas Jayhawk. Ultimately, that type of flipping and flopping is quite damaging to ORU's brand.

[ORU Eli]

When you put it like that, it's kinda hard to disagree with. =)

[Guest EagleBackr]

I wonder if KU fans felt the same way about the Jayhawk when it was introduced? Arriving at a mark like KU's was the goal when Eli was birthed, and even then some in and around the athletic department thought we should have been going with something more abstract like Kansas State's Wildcat rather than the Kansas Jayhawk.

The above mentioned concerns about looking unstable I'm sure plays strongly in Mike Carter's determination to stay the course with Eli. For that, I don't blame him one bit. If you flop around changing things every ten years, you never allow that little thing called tradition to grow and develop into a Kansas Jayhawk. Ultimately, that type of flipping and flopping is quite damaging to ORU's brand.

...uh, this just in. From the May 8 issue of Sports Illustrated:

Last week, the University of Kansas announced that it would no longer use its Jayhawk logo on official letterhead and business cards because the bird is "too fun and informal."

Marketing 101: if your logo is "too fun and informal" to use on ANYTHING affiliated with your business/school/etc., then it's time to rethink your logo. Because sometimes, after several decades, what was once thought of as "cool" becomes nothing more than "dated". Ergo, ORU's architecture - and my wardrobe.

[ORUJason]

There are many mascots in D-1 that look MUCH worse than Eli. In fact, if you peruse through D-1 mascots conference by conference, most of the athletic mascot logos are worse than Eli.

I like the Eli look. He may be cuddly, but he looks sharp.

Maybe he's not perfect, but there is no guarantee that he would replaced by something that you think is better.

I'm not sure if an athletic mascot should be on official letterhead. It is probably a good decision to have a more professional university-wide logo.

But I think Eli, just as he is, presents a great look for the athletic programs.

[Guest Rob Marshall]

...uh, this just in. From the May 8 issue of Sports Illustrated:

Last week, the University of Kansas announced that it would no longer use its Jayhawk logo on official letterhead and business cards because the bird is "too fun and informal."

Marketing 101: if your logo is "too fun and informal" to use on ANYTHING affiliated with your business/school/etc., then it's time to rethink your logo. Because sometimes, after several decades, what was once thought of as "cool" becomes nothing more than "dated". Ergo, ORU's architecture - and my wardrobe.

Nice work, EB, with the fresh scoop from Lawrence, KS with special thanks to Sports Illustrated; as I'm not a SI subscriber or even casual reader, I missed that.

Okay, along these lines, here's some food for thought ... would ORU gear be more popular to people beyond the ORU bubble of supporters, if it featured a mark other than Eli? Is even the slickest of BYU football gear by NIKE popular with anyone beyond the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints? Outside of doing something vulgar with the name, like Oregon State and the University of South Carolina do (and I'm DEFINITELY against going anywhere near that), or a gimmick item (see, "Got Miracles" NCAA tournament t-shirt) type item, I frankly don't believe ORU gear will ever be too hot beyond the circle of current ORU friends and family.

[vcboy2000]

Rob, I think we're all beyond the "making Eli a house hold item" tip.

Jason, I don't think that anyone is saying that Eli is the worse mascot in the NCAA, but I think a lot of people wish he were a lil more fierce.

[ORU Eli]

My gripe is that we have a very generic mascot and very cuddly logo but I agree, it could be much much worse. I don't think it looks bad at all...I just think its kinda so-so...it could be much worse. (i.e. Chicago State, Centenary, etc) Mascot definitely won't be changing, nor do I want it to at this point, and I'm sure the logo will be there for many more years but it'd be nice to see them do something a little more edgy in the future. Not controversial, just edgy. Oregon State and South Carolina are ridiculous for doing what they do.

[praetorfenix86]

Not fierce?????

I crap my pants from fear every time ORU Eli posts.

[Stl VU Fan]

Rob, I think we're all beyond the "making Eli a house hold item" tip.

Jason, I don't think that anyone is saying that Eli is the worse mascot in the NCAA, but I think a lot of people wish he were a lil more fierce.

The Crusader Mascot would beg to differ.

[89rabbit]

...uh, this just in. From the May 8 issue of Sports Illustrated:

Last week, the University of Kansas announced that it would no longer use its Jayhawk logo on official letterhead and business cards because the bird is "too fun and informal."

Marketing 101: if your logo is "too fun and informal" to use on ANYTHING affiliated with your business/school/etc., then it's time to rethink your logo. Because sometimes, after several decades, what was once thought of as "cool" becomes nothing more than "dated". Ergo, ORU's architecture - and my wardrobe.

Coming from a school of the cute and cuddly persuasion myself and living close to Lawrence (45 min East) I have an understanding of this issue. I can tell you for a fact that the Jayhawk is not going away. Some academic types feel he is too fun for their purposes, but the Hawk will remain the symbol of the athletic department.

SDSU is the same way.

Athletically we use:

or

Academically we use:

or

[Guest EagleBackr]

SDSU is the same way.

Athletically we use:

How do you guys get by without a lawsuit from Warner Bros.? Looks like Elmer Fudd should be hot on his trail. "Shhhh.....weyuh hunting wabbits!"

[89rabbit]

A question that has been brought up before . . . So let's look at the Rabbits in question.

First SDSU's Mascot:

Now Bugs Bunny:

Next I will quote a post from Filbert from the Jackrabbit fan board:

on May 14th, 2005, 8:36am, filbert wrote:

It's true that there are some similarities between Bugs BunnyTM (BB) and Running RabbitTM (RR):

Both are stylized representations of lagomorphs;

Both have long floppy ears with pink on the inside;

Both are gray on top with a chest of white.

The two images have a longer list of differences:

BB is an animated character, RR is a static logo;

BB has two visible teeth, RR has five;

BB has whiskers, RR does not;

BB's tail is gray and white, RR's is just white;

RR's cheek ruffs are more pronounced than BB's;

RR's nose and pupils are much larger than BB's;

BB has a vertical chest line, RR does not;

BB's favorite food is carrots, RR prefers bison

There have been other cartoon rabbits in the public:

Trix cereal ("silly rabbit, Trix are for kids");

The Nesquik Bunny;

Roger Rabbit;

blue-rabbit.com (ring tones for phones)

etc., etc.

Despite what you may think at first glance, I don't think that it's at all obvious that that Warner would win over SDSU if it ever came to trial.

The trademark law addresses "likelihood of injury to business reputation or of dilution of a mark . . . notwithstanding the absence of competition between the parties or the absence of confusion as to the source of goods and services."

If anything, it could be argued that BB infringes on the Jackrabbit identity and trademarks because 1) SDSU had the "Jackrabbit" identity before BB came up in 1938, and 2) this discussion clearly reveals that BB constitutes a potential dilution of that identity.

Interestingly, there is a line of thought that believes that BB himself is a derivative character from a Disney character "Max Hare" which appeared in a short that won a 1935 Academy Award.

[Guest Rob Marshall]

Rob, I think we're all beyond the "making Eli a house hold item" tip.

Huh? I'm completely lost on what you're talking about? I've re-read, and re-read my re-reading, and from what I previously posted, nowhere in anything I typed did I make even a remote suggestion (or tip) that anyone make Eli a house hold item.

Your point???

[Guest Rob Marshall]

Coming from a school of the cute and cuddly persuasion myself and living close to Lawrence (45 min East) I have an understanding of this issue. I can tell you for a fact that the Jayhawk is not going away. Some academic types feel he is too fun for their purposes, but the Hawk will remain the symbol of the athletic department.

Similar to the feedback I received when I checked this out. Thank you for sharing 89er; the Hawk will remain THE mark of KU's athletics programs along with the enterlocked "KU."