Concordia University Wisconsin unveiled a new athletic brand that will provide consistency across its 32 varsity-level sports programs, distinguish CUW from the eight other Concordia campuses in the system, and tether it to Live Uncommon, the comprehensive university rebranding effort that was rolled out in 2018.
Following an extensive research effort, Concordia’s athletic department revealed the new spirit mark to the campus community today.
“When we recognize the reach that our athletics program gives the university, it was easy to prioritize this effort,” explains 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 over 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.
According to Athletic Director, Dr. Robert Barnhill, “We already have a challenge differentiating ourselves from the eight other Concordias throughout the university system. We were doing ourselves a disservice to dilute our program and name even more by not being consistent in uniforms. With this announcement today we will present a bold, unified program that will clearly reflect who we are as athletes, as a university, and as a community.”
The falcon symbol has had several iterations throughout history, so, too, has the Freddy the Falcon mascot. An updated Freddy was also unveiled today in print.
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 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.
The new athletic brand guidelines will be strictly enforced. Approved primary colors are royal blue, silver grey, and white. Additional secondary color options include Falcon blue, Midnight blue, Graphite, Baseball Grey and Downy Grey.
The official fonts are Brandon Grotesque and Gotham. New uniforms will be rolled out throughout the summer.
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 team will focus on Concordia University Ann Arbor’s athletic portfolio in the near future.
— Lisa Liljegren is vice president of marketing and strategic communications.
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