One afternoon in 1992, athletics administrator Gregg Fort designed the logo for Stephen F. Austin State University. It took Fort a matter of minutes to create the design, and it cost the school nothing at all. Fort was happy to help the football coach who was, at the time, wanting a decal to put on the team’s helmets.
Fast forward twenty-two years, and SFA has just spent $1.2 million on a new marketing plan, which included a redesigned logo. Costing thousands of dollars, the new logo took months to create. However, it only took four days for the school to bring back the old logo. The school admitted defeat when more than seven thousand people signed a petition opposing the new logo. Alumni were even encouraged to return the most recent issue of the alumni magazine, which displayed the new logo.
While the university intends to continue forward with its marketing campaign, which launched on March 31st, 2014, the campaign will be sporting the old logo. Sometimes people don’t want something new. While updating and keeping current is important, there is much to be said for maintaining tradition too.
