Three-part revamp plan under way

The athletics department is slowly working its way through a three-part plan to revamp the school's colors and logo, create a new icon and introduce a new mascot.\nThe purpose of this plan is to create a department-wide brand identity for athletics, Jeff Fanter, director of Media Relations for the athletics department, said. \nAfter deciding last fall that the athletic department needed a more uniform look, the proposal was unveiled in January. The first change was to start using crimson and cream as the standard school colors, replacing the various shades of red and white used by the varsity teams. This part of the plan also involved the redesign of the block IU logo. A San Francisco-based company, Michael Osborne Designs, was hired to help with this project.\nThe crimson and cream and new logo appeared on the athletics department Web site in February. The changes to the logo were subtle, to the point that some are wondering what was changed, and if it was worth the $69,000 spent on the project so far. \nThe current budget for the entire project is $136,000.\n"I can't think of anyone of good conscience charging for that work," said Mark Schaaf, an IU alum. "I can't imagine that very many people even care (about the new logo), so to put a price tag on something like that, it just tells me that (the athletics department is) floating in money."\nFanter was quick to point out that the $69,000 is a misleading number for the changes seen at this point.\n"There's a lot more to come than just the logo ... The money has paid for things the public hasn't seen yet."\nFanter also said the money was used to pay for focus group research.\nThere has also been some question as to why the athletics department contracted with a California company for this project instead of looking to local designers. \n"When I was in school, it seemed to me that we had an art department," Schaaf said. "Isn't there anything to do with marketing in the School of Business? It seems to me that a beginner in one of those areas could have done as good."\nThe choice to use Michael Osborne Designs was made in part because the athletics department wanted someone who could work with the whole concept of brand identity for IU.\n"There's a ton of talented people on campus," Fanter said. "But when you're trying to look at the bigger picture of brand identity, there's a lot more to it than just a mark."\nAnd for people concerned about the expense of the project, Fanter assures that the money came out of athletics' marketing budget, which in turn comes from revenues produced by the athletics department and not from tuition money.\nThe new icon should be unveiled sometime this summer, and any mascot that is chosen should be debuted at the start of the football season. There is also hope that varsity teams will be sporting the new official colors and new logo on their uniforms by next year as well. \nThe reaction to these changes has been mixed. While the athletics department involved students, faculty and the community in its focus groups, an ESPN.com fan poll showed that 62.7 percent of 8,439 online voters were against using crimson and cream instead of red and white. For some, the change won't make any difference at all.\n"I think IU's known for being red and white," said Trisha Marie Roberts, a senior majoring in Physical Education. "I don't think crimson and cream are going to matter any"