Summit League Logo Battle: Oral Roberts

When it comes to The Summit League, we have some of the best nicknames in all of college sports. And what better way to embrace our team monikers than to take a look at their visual equivalences: the team logo. For all of our analyses, we used the primary logos for each team listed on the venerable website SportsLogos.net. (Please note that any digs thrown at the schools are just for fun and do not necessarily represent our true feelings about them!)

Program: Oral Roberts

Nickname: Golden Eagles

Origin of Nickname: The Golden Eagle was first introduced in 1993, presumably the result of an identity-changing phase. The name of the university's mascot, ELI, is an acronym standing for education, lifeskills, and integrity, or the three traits that an ORU student represents. (h/t: The Summit League)

Philosophical Take: According to the ORU mission statement, it is a "charismatic university, founded in the fires of evangelism and upon the unchanging precepts of the Bible." With that said and considering ORU was founded by one of the world's foremost evangelists, there is no doubt that spreading the Gospel is one of the tenets of the Tulsa-based university. For this reason, we believe the animated Golden Eagle is a cover-up for a much larger mission. In fact, this eagle was chosen in an effort to align itself with the bald eagle, the national emblem of the United States. By doing this, the university is sending a symbolic message about its desire to see the US adopt Christianity as its official religion, outlawing the free practice of other religions and those who are non-believers. This would go down as one of the largest forced evangelistic missions ever in this country, and it would all be done under the guise of a pretty little cartoon character. These ulterior motives are what describe the golden eagle's crooked grin.

Final Judgment: Aside from the colors, this logo leaves much to be desired. Basically, it's a cartoon character with a questioning facial expression. Also, who wears vests? I seriously think the idea outlined in the philosophical take is more fitting for this logo than anything remotely connected to sports.

How We'd Fix It: The best thing Oral Roberts has going for itself is that many in the general public know what "ORU" means (unlike, say, the wildly popular "OU"). Because it is relatively well-known in the country as a university and from several appearances by its basketball team in the NCAA Tournament, people generally won't confuse these three letters with another school. It is for this reason that simply ORU will do on any logo version, though it should be the main feature and not relegated to "placement on an out-dated vest" status. After this, all one needs to do is update the feathery creature. I borrowed the bird from Morehead State for the following rendition, if not only to show that a golden eagle can look a lot more intimidating than one might imagine.

On Feathers and Fonts:

See our other Summit League Logo posts thus far: Centenary College, IUPUI, Southern Utah, UMKC, North Dakota State, and Western Illinois.

Summit League Logo Battle: Western Illinois

When it comes to The Summit League, we have some of the best nicknames in all of college sports. And what better way to embrace our team monikers than to take a look at their visual equivalences: the team logo. For all of our analyses, we used the primary logos for each team listed on the venerable website SportsLogos.net. (Please note that any digs thrown at the schools are just for fun and do not necessarily represent our true feelings about them!)

Program: Western Illinois

Nickname: Leathernecks

Origin of Nickname: Derived from the U.S. Marine Corps, where legendary WIU football coach Ray "Rock" Hanson obtained hero status as well as the Marine ethic used to build the football program. The bulldog is also a nod to the Marine Corps, which features an English bulldog as its mascot. (h/t: The Summit League)

Philosophical Take: While the football tradition at Western Illinois may suggest something else, this is a basketball website. Therefore, it's only fitting that this logo prominently features purple and yellow in honor of the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers. For this basketball program, these colors symbolize the hues of one of the most storied franchises in the sport in an effort to give the players the feeling of legitimacy. After all, when the ballers are so accustomed to losing and losing and losing, the fact they get to wear purple and yellow makes their four-years in Macomb, Illinois a bit more bearable. The bulldog here is visibly angry, most likely due to having to be associated with Western Illinois.

Final Judgment: There are better-looking bulldogs out there, though this one does a decent job of telling the onlooker, "Our mascot is a bulldog, and he's angry." Similarly, the lettering is fine, and I do like how "Western" pops out more than "Illinois." Too often directional schools weaken their cardinal indicators, despite the fact there should be a certain amount of pride in representing that particular area of their state. Overall, this logo is passable, suffering mostly from a lack of anything that gives Western Illinois a true identity of its own.

How We'd Fix It: This logo calls for a total redesign. Because Western Illinois has been in Division I for a very long time, the university couldn't really use reclassification as an excuse to revamp its identity. Instead, they'll just have to use decades worth of basketball futility as the primary driver of change. In order to somewhat please proud alumni, they'll use a variation on the current nickname, changing "necks" to "men" to form Leathermen. This has been done in order to align the program with bikers. Guys who ride motorcycles often ride in groups, or gangs, and most often represent togetherness, toughness, and speed. All of these components also fit well with a basketball program, especially one competing in The Summit League. Additionally, the new nickname could help bring more people to Western Hall for games during biker-theme nights. Anyone who has driven extensively knows that bikers will hit the road to collectively support a cause as much as any other group of people; therefore, biker nights at WIU would surely pack seats, something the program desperately needs to do in order to give the team a cheerful audience to play for.

A Rough Sketch-Up:

See our other Summit League Logo posts thus far: Centenary College, IUPUI, Southern Utah, UMKC, and North Dakota State.

Summit League Logo Battle: North Dakota State

When it comes to The Summit League, we have some of the best nicknames in all of college sports. And what better way to embrace our team monikers than to take a look at their visual equivalences: the team logo. For all of our analyses, we used the primary logos for each team listed on the venerable website SportsLogos.net. (Please note that any digs thrown at the schools are just for fun and do not necessarily represent our true feelings about them!)

Program: North Dakota State

Nickname: Bison

Origin of Nickname: Bison was chosen by the NDSU football coach in 1919 to replace Aggies in order to give the school a stronger, fiercer mascot. The name is a nod to the large animals that were once fixtures of North Dakota. (h/t: The Summit League)

Philosophical Take: There are a few themes featured prominently with this here Bison logo, all revolving around one particular aspect of the bison itself: the smoke. At first glance, it may appear as if though our large friend is either extremely angry or simply exhaling a little rougher than normal. In fact, neither are true. The small smoke plume is actually symbolic of the smoke the NDSU program blew up our collective rear-ends during the 2008-09 season. Capitalizing on a devious plan beginning with the redshirting of an entire recruiting class five years prior, the Bison saw its senior-laden team find its way to the top of The Summit League standings and into the NCAA Tournament. That game was played a mere four hours away from the NDSU campus, and immediately the entire nation was under the assumption this was a powerhouse program that could win conference tournaments and pack the NCAAs. Sadly, the likelihood of such a combination of lucky breaks happening again are slim to none, as our friend, The Bison, indicates. Alternatively, the smoke emanating from the bison's nostrils could be a side-effect of an unfortunate disorder known as Bison Fever. This virus tends to affect the brain, causing thousands of people to hop aboard mysterious wagons carrying bands. Bison Fever has most often been found amongst members of the national media.

Final Judgment: Overall, this logo is one of the best in the conference. The bison, while mostly hidden in this depiction, still stands out as a fierce subject. And it's not too cartoony, which is a trend that plagues many of The Summit League's other logos. Stylistically, we don't favor the use of "NDSU" and "North Dakota State University" in one graphic. This is fair, though, because the university just isn't to the point where people automatically know what this hodgepodge of letters means, especially considering the state of North Dakota has never had a DI program before NDSU. That said, we'd hope to see the university stick with a single form of the name in future renditions. Oh, and please use a better font as the rounded edges used on the full-length name are far from invoking the spirit of an intimidating program.

How We'd Fix It: For this one, we'd only change the lettering. To take from our "Final Judgment" section, we'd make it so that the name of the school is only present one time. In place of the original "NDSU," we're adding the school's nickname. However, instead of the actual version of the name, we thought it best to use a "z" where one would normally see an "s" since they all pronounce bison with the 26th letter of the alphabet anyway. Next, there has been an upgrading of the font used to spell out North Dakota State University. The children's book typography used before has been exchanged for an edgier replacement. Note that the fumes from the nose remain in honor of the program's One Good Season.

An Elementary Visual Representation:

See our other Summit League Logo posts thus far: Centenary College, IUPUI, Southern Utah, and UMKC.

Summit League Logo Battle: UMKC

When it comes to The Summit League, we have some of the best nicknames in all of college sports. And what better way to embrace our team monikers than to take a look at their visual equivalences: the team logo. For all of our analyses, we used the primary logos for each team listed on the venerable website SportsLogos.net. (Please note that any digs thrown at the schools are just for fun and do not necessarily represent our true feelings about them!)

Program: UMKC

Nickname: Kangaroos

Origin of Nickname: The kangaroo was first proposed as a potential mascot in the 1930s; there were mixed feelings on the name until Walt Disney became involved by contributing a drawing of the animal alongside Mickey Mouse for the university's humor magazine. The name took hold shortly after and has been around ever since. (h/t: The Summit League)

Philosophical Take: It's really too bad that the logo we are featuring today is not the same one shown on SportsLogos.net as the school's primary logo because analyzing a sweater-clad kangaroo would have been a lot more fun than this comparatively normal one. With that said, there isn't a lot going on with this interpretation of the logo. We have an angry looking kangaroo heading left, or forward, which is puzzling considering the program has been taking giant steps back as of late. The typography slants down signifying UMKC's fall to the bottom of Division I and eventual collapse into a lower division. Quite literally, we see the lettering of the university grabbing hold of the beloved marsupial as it tries to escape; Kasey, after all, enjoys his status as the only kangaroo mascot in Division I and would rather abandon his lifelong partner institution than suffer through the constant questions of whether he too could be downgraded to DII or worse. The one thing the kangaroo has managed to avoid is the beating the lettering has taken, as its black and blue facade showcases. Nope, Kasey has gone relatively unscathed in recent years as he has embarked on many vacations to visit the 423 players who have transferred out of UMKC in the last four years. His favorite: Reggie Hamilton.

Final Judgment: This is a very solid, contemporary logo. The aforementioned "kangaroo wearing a sweater" design appeared dated, so this one serves as a great upgrade. The UMKC typography is edgy, and the deep blue looks excellent juxtaposed with the kangaroo's yellow tone (also a great nod to the school's uniform scheme). "Roos" is slightly out of place, and I wonder why it lacks a border of any sort. It's difficult to imagine a kangaroo as angry or fierce so the program gets a pass despite the animal's lack of many defining features.

How We'd Fix It: Since we dig the typography used for the logo, we'd only make a minor adjustment here. To honor the program's lack of direction, we're accentuating the letters with some colorful arrows. These nifty pieces of flair point in all directions because no one really knows where UMKC will go next. Kasey is clearly confused, too, as his facial expression (hopefully) indicates. To make matters worse, the Australian transplant is also perplexed as to why it became acceptable to shorten his name from kangaroo to 'roo. Consequently, his expression of confusion could be considered one of misery. In fact, we wouldn't doubt it.

A Lesson In Elementary Graphic Design:

Summit League Logo Battle: Southern Utah

When it comes to The Summit League, we have some of the best nicknames in all of college sports. And what better way to embrace our team monikers than to take a look at their visual equivalences: the team logo. For all of our analyses, we used the primary logos for each team listed on the venerable website SportsLogos.net. (Please note that any digs thrown at the schools are just for fun and do not necessarily represent our true feelings about them!)

The following entry in our Summit League Logo series is a guest post by Danny Malendowski. Danny was featured previously in our Student Section Chronicles for Oakland U as a Grizz Gang leader. He is a loyal Grizzly and, as we find out below, full of clever thoughts when it comes to logos in this conference!

Program: Southern Utah

Nickname: Thunderbirds

Origin of Nickname: The Thunderbird is to Southern Utah what the Grizzly is to Oakland, with Broncos being the original mascot of the former, as Pioneers was the initial mascot for the latter. Like most schools that have gone through a transition in the past 100 years, Southern Utah changed mascots when they made the transition to a four-year college. A thunderbird is a Native American deity, and the logo as we know it now was designed by a student in 2001. Furthermore, their mascot is named Thor, which apart from being awesome, should certainly be incorporated in the official “Extreme Golden Grizzlies Gameplan Logo Makeover.” (h/t: The Summit League)

Philosophical Take: The Thunderbird nickname may be fitting for Southern Utah, if only for the reason that someone has the same reaction upon hearing their mascot as one does when they hear the fact that Southern Utah plays in a league with teams from the Rust Belt and the Badlands: *insert statement of incredulity here*. However, I feel that the name Thunderbirds (or at least the logo design) is fitting for this school, and not simply because the name combines two things native to the heavens, through which every Summit school must traverse in order to play this geographically-secluded conference opponent. Upon first glance at the logo I noticed the bottom lightning bolt looks very similar to the logo of the Tampa Bay Lightning, and although I guess lightning is a rather uniform thing to draw, making comparisons between the Cedar City cagers and the oddly located hockey team is not fruitless:

• Both have languished in terms of fan support and attendance in their respective conferences.
• Both are second fiddle in their towns; the Lightning to the NFL's Buccaneers, and the SUU T-Birds (rather pathetically) to the school's football team. Remember, the football team plays in the pointless storied Great West Football conference. They use the term “great” quite liberally.
• Both are participating in sports which do not fit their geography (hockey in Florida and basketball in Utah).
• Finally, both have had one good year (Lightning in 2003-04 and SUU in 2000-01).

Final Judgment: Although overused in the realm of sports, the black and red adds an intimidation factor to an otherwise uninspired logo design. If you look closely, it appears as if the bird is running into a clear plate of glass (look at the beak up close). The amalgamation of the Lightning on the bottom and the bird on top makes the logo seem disorganized overall. We need some direction in this.

How We'd Fix It: I believe just about everybody (Roger Reid included) would agree that the SUU program needs a boost right now. The NHL equivalent of the T-Birds (the Tampa Bay Lightning) also felt like they needed a boost back in 2008. This is when they created an alternate uniform, featuring the moniker "the Bolts." Short. Sweet. To the point. This is what I propose for Southern Utah. The name of the Thunderbird mascot which prowls (or in recent times sulks) the sidelines of basketball games is Thor. There is no one, perhaps outside of Chuck Norris, who doesn't think the name Thor is sweet and intimidating: the two things which a mascot should be. It would also be a much better mascot than a demonic (or blind) eagle which is defecating lightning. I would propose the Marvel comic version of Thor, as opposed to the mythological figure. I mean come on, anything created by Stan Lee is automatically awesome. It is because of this awesomeness that I would change the name of the squad from the Thunderbirds to The Thor, a la the Stanford Cardinal. This promotes the change, unity, and toughness which Southern Utah will require in order to rise like a Thunderbird from the doldrums of the Summit League. Did I mention the logo will be designed by Stan Lee?

Rough Artist's Rendering:

Piecing Together the 2010-2011 Golden Grizzlies Schedule

There has been a lot of movement in the college basketball scheduling realm lately as programs slowly begin to release their 2010-2011 schedules. Oakland University's schedule has been shaping up nicely in recent weeks, although an official version has yet to be released. With that said, using a variety of sources we've attempted to piece together as much of the schedule as is publicly known at this point in time (note The Summit League schedule is complete). We'll be updating this page (and providing a static link on the home page) whenever new pieces are released, eventually culminating in a new post with initial breakdowns when official word comes from OUGrizzlies.com.

Please note this is a "best guess" version based on the information available. This should not be viewed as an official schedule. You will find that when it is released at the OU Athletics website.

Date	Versus	Location	Time
Saturday, November 13	West Virginia	Morgantown, WV	TBD
Monday, November 15	Ohio	Athens, OH	7:00pm
Sunday, November 21	Purdue	West Lafayette, IN	7:00pm
Tuesday, November 23	Wright State	Dayton, OH	7:00pm
Friday, November 26	Southern	Chicago, IL	3:30pm
Saturday, November 27	Austin Peay/Charleston So.	Chicago, IL	12:30/3:00pm
Thursday, December 2	Southern Utah	Rochester, MI	TBD
Saturday, December 4	UMKC	Rochester, MI	6:00pm
Wed, December 8	Illinois	Champaign, IL	7:00pm
Saturday, December 11	Michigan State	Auburn Hills, MI	12:30pm
Tuesday, Dec 14	Tennessee	Knoxville, TN	7:00pm
Saturday, December 18	Michigan	Ann Arbor, MI	Noon

Lou Henson Award Tournament w/ Valparaiso, Eastern Michigan, Rochester College

Monday, December 20	Rochester College	Rochester, MI	TBD
Tuesday, December 21	Winner of Valpo/EMU	Rochester, MI	TBD
Thursday, December 23	Ohio State	Columbus, OH	8:00pm
Tuesday, December 28	Centenary	Shreveport, LA	8:00pm
Thursday, December 30	Oral Roberts	Tulsa, OK	8:05pm
Thursday, January 6	IUPUI	Rochester, MI	TBD
Saturday, January 8	Western Illinois	Rochester, MI	TBD
Saturday, January 15	IPFW	Fort Wayne, IN	TBD
Thursday, January 20	South Dakota State	Brookings, SD	8:00pm
Saturday, January 22	North Dakota State	Fargo, ND	8:30pm
Thursday, January 27	Oral Roberts	Rochester, MI	TBD
Saturday, January 29	Centenary	Rochester, MI	TBD
Thursday, February 3	Western Illinois	Macomb, IL	TBD
Sunday, February 6	IUPUI*	Indianapolis, IN	1:30pm
Saturday, February 12	IPFW	Rochester, MI	TBD
Thursday, February 17	North Dakota State	Rochester, MI	TBD
Saturday, February 19	South Dakota State	Rochester, MI	TBD
Thursday, February 24	UMKC	Kansas City, MO	8:05pm
Saturday, February 26	Southern Utah	Cedar City, UT	9:30pm

* This game will be played at Conseco Fieldhouse, not IUPUI's on-campus arena, The Jungle.

Sources: Ohio University, Chicago Invitational, Wright State University, Oakland University- Tenn Press Release, Oakland University Chicago Invitational Press Release, Oakland University Season Ticket Brochure, Washington Post, The Summit League, August Grizz Talk from The Oakland Press, University of Illinois, Michigan State University, University of Michigan, West Virginia University, Ohio State University.

Summit League Logo Battle: IUPUI

When it comes to The Summit League, we have some of the best nicknames in all of college sports. And what better way to embrace our team monikers than to take a look at their visual equivalences: the team logo. For all of our analyses, we used the primary logos for each team listed on the venerable website SportsLogos.net. (Please note that any digs thrown at the schools are just for fun and do not necessarily represent our true feelings about them!)

Program: IUPUI

Nickname: Jaguars

Origin of Nickname: Jaguars replaced original nickname of "Metros" when the university made the jump to Division I in late 90s. Chosen to reflect the spirit of Indianapolis and IUPUI: powerful, swift, and confident. (h/t: The Summit League)

Philosophical Take: The placement of IUPUI beneath the word Jaguar and in a much smaller font size is indicative of the university's desire to keep its name as hidden as possible. Due to years of torment and one too many "ooeepooee" jokes, the program instead chooses to embrace its animal spirit. The Jaguar here is menacing and its fangs sharp, paralleling the basketball program's tendency to consistently compete well against even the fiercest of opponents. Yet unlike most contemporary logos, the Jaguar's face is turned to the left as opposed to the right or forward-looking; this was likely done in an attempt to conceal the many facial lacerations the Jaguar has faced over the years from its demanding parents, the Hoosier and Boilermaker.

Final Judgment: The Jaguar is an animal already represented well by an NFL football team, yet IUPUI's version is original enough to avoid confusion. Unfortunately, the overwhelming use of black, gray, and teal (which is odd considering the NFL's team use of it) does come off as slightly misguided given the program's crimson and old gold uniforms. Moreover, the typography used for "Jaguars" is fairly amateurish, bringing to mind a rough sketch more than sophisticated graphic design.

How We'd Fix It: Instead of glorifying all things jaguar, we'd seek to embrace the city of Indianapolis. While its skyline may not be immediately recognizable to most, people from the state of Indiana - those most likely to care about IUPUI - surely know its main features. Because of this, we'd make the skyline a central figure in IUPUI's logo (think the Seattle Supersonics of old), establishing the Jaguars as THE program in Indianapolis. Moreover, we'd scrap the sketch-drawn Jaguars font for the Jaguars script of the early 2000s. Only the actual school colors are used, and the name of the school pops more. Finally, because the current Jaguar hides its face and contains too many colors, we'd go with the old Jaguar for now - it's still fierce, and with it peering through the shadows of the skyline, this feline is still poised to strike unsuspectingly. IUPUI, Indianapolis is yours.

(Beginner) Artist's Rendering: