Editor's note: This story first appeared in the fall 2019 issue of the Concordian, the official magazine of Concordia University Wisconsin.
Last May, Concordia University Wisconsin unveiled a new athletic brand in order to provide consistency across its 32 varsity-level sports programs, distinguishing CUW from the eight other Concordia campuses in the system and tether it to “Live Uncommon,” the comprehensive university rebranding effort that was launched in 2018.
Following an extensive research effort, Concordia’s athletic department revealed the new spirit mark to the campus community at the end of this past academic year. New uniforms were rolled out starting over the summer.
“When we recognize the reach that our athletics program gives the university, it was easy to 
prioritize this effort,” said Gretchen Jameson, senior vice president of the Office of University Affairs. “Our athletic teams are truly national in scope, both in terms of where we compete and where we recruit. Our goal in this project was to present a sharp, vibrant, memorable, and coherent visual to support the entire athletics portfolio at CUW.”
With more than 600 CUW student-athletes currently bearing the Falcons brand during competitions, team uniforms were a natural place to start. Though the university’s colors have traditionally been blue and white, secondary colors have crept into the pallet of the various teams throughout the years. Over time, the color creep has diminished the recognition and reputation of Concordia. The new athletic brand will promote continuity among color, font, and mark choices.
The falcon symbol has had several iterations throughout history. So, too, has the Freddy the Falcon mascot. An updated Freddy was also unveiled as part of the updated branding effort.
Concordia University has long had a strong tradition of excellence and innovation in athletics. Numerous examples show that Concordia has been a pace-setter in piloting athletic programs ahead of peer institutions. Since Athletic Director Dr. Robert Barnhill’s arrival in 2001 alone, Concordia has added 11 programs to its roster, which has helped to more than double the university’s student-athlete count. Now with a strong, unifying brand to mark Concordia’s vibrant and impressive collection of athletic programs, Barnhill anticipates it will be a boon to the university’s ongoing recruitment efforts.
“We were doing ourselves a disservice to dilute our program and name even more by not being consistent in uniforms,” said Barnhill. “With this effort, we have begun to present a bold, unified
program that will clearly reflect who we are as athletes, as a university, and as a community.” This entire effort was led by the Office of University Affairs and BVK, a Milwaukee based marketing agency, the same partnership that developed the Live Uncommon brand. The group will focus on Concordia University Ann Arbor’s athletic portfolio in the near future.
Follow CUW athletics or learn more about our 32 competitive programs at cuwfalcons.com.
The fall 2019 Concordian hit mailboxes the end of September. View a PDF version of the magazine here. If you are not on our mailing list, but are interested in receiving a free copy, call 262-243-4333.
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