Over the last decade, Oregon has completely reinvented itself -- with a little a lot of help from Phil Knight -- to become a college athletics paradox. It’s a program that’s built a tradition of not having much of one to begin with. Instead of honoring the past, the UO’s tradition is about doing the next best thing.
Looks like the Ducks’ in-state rival, Oregon State, could be taking a similar approach. Per the Oregonian, OSU is in the middle of a rebranding project with Nike to unveil a new brand and logo next fall. “The review will look at all parts of the identity package from color schemes to the OSU font and Beaver logo,” said OSU athletic director Bob De Carolis in a department release.
More from the Oregonian:“There are some schools that are tradition-rich, nationally known and have a true brand,” said Tinker Hatfield, Nike’s vice president of design and special projects. “Then there are other universities that aren’t quite as known, and those are usually the kind of universities who are more interested in working with us to improve their recognition, visibility and presence.
“We wouldn’t attempt to rebrand Alabama or Texas or Miami, for example, because they’re already super strong and visible. But other schools -- the University of Oregon has been one in the past, and now Oregon State -- would love to improve their success rate in recruiting all students, and that can happen with rebranding.”There seems to be a lot of that going around in college football. Unless you’re one of about a dozen programs, change to a logo, jersey, etc. is inevitable.