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UPDATED 9:40 a.m. EAST LANSING – The fans complained. Mark Hollis listened. And Michigan State will stick with the same Spartan head logo after all.
MSU’s athletic director sent out an open letter to fans in a press release Friday morning, saying: “After careful consideration, we will use the current Spartan logo design, first used in the late 1970s, to build our visual brand identity.”
MSU and Nike are still planning to roll out a new, unified look for MSU’s sports teams in April, Hollis said in the statement, but the Spartan head will remain unchanged.
An image of the new Spartan head – with slight alterations from the current one – was discovered by fans on the U.S. Patent Office Web site and leaked to message boards on Jan. 21. It didn’t take long for thousands to join clubs on Facebook protesting the new look.
MSU basketball coach Tom Izzo came out in defense of the logo, and in support of Hollis and Nike, at his weekly news conference on Jan. 25.
“For all of you out there complaining, shame on you,” Izzo said at the time, describing how Nike “researched all the way back to Greece” to come up with a new design.
In his letter to fans, Hollis reiterated his desire to complete this “cohesive national brand identity program.” But he also admitted that the fan uproar changed his mind on the logo itself, which was one piece of the redesign.
“The recent disclosure of an updated Spartan logo from a trademark registration process has resulted in a flurry of concern and discontentment among some of our students, alumni and fans,” said Hollis, who did not immediately return a call to his mobile phone. “I have given careful attention to thoughtful comments received and sought additional counsel regarding how ideas might be incorporated into the overall strategic brand and identity process.
“Our primary objective is to achieve a strong and consistent Spartan brand, but rest assured that, as our mission statement attests, bringing Spartans together is one of our fundamental values.”
Check back for more updates.
