When William & Mary sports teams take the field this fall, they will do so with a new set of logos.
W&M unveiled the logos Wednesday as part of the “Bold Look. Same Tribe.” campaign to revitalize the university’s sports branding, the university said.
The logos, which will replace the Tribe script on sports uniforms, continue the tradition of the interlocking W&M that has been the university’s most prevalent logo since 1899, the school said in a news release. One of the logos, in a nod to the university’s mascot, adds a more aggressive Griffin design that incorporates the word “Tribe.”
“Having a strong and recognizable brand is important as we pursue excellence as a department,” W&M Athletics Director Samantha K. Huge said in the release. “While we remain the Tribe, the new logo provides us with a more powerful connection to the university and will allow us to more seamlessly elevate the entire institution’s visibility on a national scale.”
The new logos will slowly replace the existing ones throughout athletic venues and on sports apparel over the next year, the university said.
While the Tribe script logo will become de-emphasized, W&M has no intention of dropping the nickname, the university said. The Tribe was first used at W&M to describe its athletics program in the 1920s and became the exclusive nickname in the early 1980s.
The new logo will be used on the uniforms, gear, stationery and promotional material for all 23 W&M sports, the university said.
W&M men’s basketball coach Tony Shaver said he is excited about the new look for his team.
“I think, in a nutshell, it’s going to help make our program and our university more easily recognizable across the country, and I think it’s going to help us take the next step,” he said in the release. “People in California or Wisconsin or Michigan may not know what the Tribe is, but they know William & Mary.”
