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UNC Wilmington revealed the long-awaited new athletic logo on January 28th. The countdown for the big reveal began in 2014, when plans were announced at the annual Midnite Madness pep rally.
The streamlined and fierce looking multicolored Seahawk image now stares down all who cross its path, leaving the friendlier silhouette of Sammy behind.
Rob Aycock, Senior Associate Athletic Director for External Operations said, “We sought a rebrand to come up with a logo that better reflected the attitude of UNCW athletics,” in an email to SportsLogos.net.
The UNCW Athletics website states that “Joe Bosack & Co. of Pottsville, Pa., which has created sports logos for Boise State, Xavier, Houston, the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Southeastern Conference and NCAA Championships, designed the new logo following a lengthy study of UNCW’s past history and branding initiatives.”
Many favor the former logo, created in 1992, for its all-teal hue and outline in the shape of a number “one”. According to CollegeAd.org, the most recent insignia isn’t gone forever. It will still be seen as the university’s secondary logo.
Some students are in favor of the new design, while others simply aren’t satisfied. Read below to see what real Seahawks had to say.
Loving it:
“It definitely represents the new competitive nature of UNCW versus all of the other big colleges.”
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Parker G, Senior, Exercise Science
“I like the new logo. It’s more intimidating. I feel like they’re preparing to become a football school, since it looks more like other schools’ logos.”
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Katie Martin, Junior, Communication Studies
“I like it. I think it is fierce and looks more intense. It’s a good new logo for sports.”
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Niki Guerrero, Sophomore, Biology
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On the Fence:
“Our old one looked like a big-nosed robber throwing up a wave. This one reminds me of The Mighty Ducks logo, very 90’s hockey like.”
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Erin McCarty, Senior, Recreation Therapy
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Not Loving it:
“They should have consulted the student body – but instead they found some outside company who’s not familiar with the culture of our school to design a logo that doesn’t go with the flow of life at UNCW.”
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Olivia Brasacchio, Public Health, Sophomore
“I hate it! It is a complete waste of university money.”
 – Jeremy Rowley, Alumnus 2014, Political Science
“Why did we pay $26k for this? I could make a better logo in photoshop in 10 minutes”
 – DY Na$ty
“Although the old logo was pretty bad, this one isn’t much better. I had pretty high expectations and was expecting something that actually looked like a Seahawk. [I’m] pretty disappointed.”
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Alyssa Christopherson, Freshman, Marketing
“It looks like a hockey logo and not something that would represent an entire athletic dept. But, at least it’s not that 80’s logo we saw in [IMC] class! Sammy with leg warmers…”
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Kaela Bishop, Junior, Communication Studies
“Aye yo, Dub! You just f***ed up.”
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Lucas Procopio, Junior, Communication Studies
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It’s apparent that the negative comments outweigh the positive ones. UNCW alumnus Charlton Thomas Fitch had the most to say about his opinions on the recent change. Charlton graduated in 2008 with a degree in P.E. and Health.
He began,“It looks like a rabid chicken. I was so excited and happy to see the logo. But once I saw it my heart sank. It’s very kindergarten-esque and unappealing. Heck, the 1950’s logo looks better than this. I am completely disappointed and hate that this is the new face of UNCW – a total disaster.”
Charlton continued,“The old one wasn’t my favorite but I was just anticipating so much from the new logo. I wanted a fierce intimidating logo, an upgrade, and I just feel so let down. I know they did their market research, but I think the students and alumni should have been allowed to vote on this…instead of a Seahawk we got a rabid chicken trapped in a triangle.”
He ended his statements of distaste by posing the question, “What’s up with the triangle?”
It wouldn’t be surprising if others wondered the same.
Let us know what you think!