In order to create a unified brand across its athletic department, Colorado College unveiled a refreshed primary logo and new secondary mark in early February.
“This is an exciting day for the Tigers,” Colorado College vice president and athletic director Lesley Irvine said in a statement. “The logo refresh speaks directly to the momentum of Colorado College Athletics on campus. It also allows us an opportunity to build on visibility and identity in a focused and consistent way. We love the new look!”
The tiger shield has played a prominent role in Colorado College’s athletic history, dating back to its introduction in 1989. But time has not been kind to the logo, which was difficult to embroider on merchandise or use in smaller applications.
The process to update that mark began in February 2019, when Colorado College partnered with Joe Bosack & Co., a Pennsylvania-based branding company whose other clients include Boise State, Georgia, James Madison, Mississippi State, North Carolina State, North Dakota State, UNLV and Xavier, as well as numerous professional teams, college conferences and the NCAA.
The school held a series of focus groups with alumni, faculty and student-athletes in order to discuss the primary objectives of the rebrand. The firm then presented different options to the athletic department, board of trustees, and stakeholders, who selected the final logo.
“Sound process produces sound results, and Colorado College had a clear vision as to who they are and who they aspire to be,” Joe Bosack told SportsLogos.net. “They gave clear direction, thoughtful feedback and the end result is a refection of that.”
The new logo retains the general shape of the previous tiger shield, but draws inspiration from the academic logo with two mountains on the top. The tiger inside of the shield is much more lifelike, as well.
“It was always our intent to retain some equity from the previous logo, and we were able to do that with the overall shape of the logo,” Bosack said. “This always helps in transition by creating a clear visual link from old to new.”
Bosack & Co. also introduced a new secondary logo, which seemingly blends the “Linking C’s” used by the college from 1999-2009 and the aforementioned academic logo.
“The secondary logo and corresponding word marks were designed to be derivative of the typography used in the new institutional branding,” Bosack said. “This creates some continuity from the institutional identity to the athletics identity.”
The new logos will be used on athletic gear, merchandise and in multiple athletic venues. But the new secondary mark, specifically, will be placed at center ice of Ed Robson Arena, the Tigers’ new multi-purpose arena that is set to open ahead of the 2021-22 school year.
Colorado College is a private liberal arts college located in Colorado Springs. The Tigers field 16 athletic programs and compete in the NCAA Division III’s Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference in all sports except men’s ice hockey and women’s soccer, which are members of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference and Mountain West Conference, respectively.
“There were many rewarding parts of this project but the one that stands out the most was getting to know and spend time with an incredible group of student-athletes,” Bosack said. “Being a student athlete at any college is hard work, couple that with the rigorous academic schedule of CC and you quickly see how bright our future is.”
Photos via Colorado College.
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