That is the rumored new UMass helmet, as seen on a physical letter to a 2013 recruit. I’m not going to necessarily compare this new logo to the old UMass logo (seen in this websites top banner). What I am going to attempt to do is explain in what ways the new logo could be an improvement.
1. Achieve consistency in UMass’ athletics branding.
This new logo and scheme could usher in a new era of consistent athletic branding. In 2004, when I arrived in Amherst, the basketball court had a massive Sam the Minuteman logo at center court.
And that makes sense. I thought. After all, that was the UMass athletics logo. Then something happened. The university started to push that logo out, at least just a bit. That included re-painting the center court at the Mullins Center.
So are we using the Sam logo, or not? It was still used on TV and other promotional items, but was taken off the court. Why? The logo change, along with taking the maroon off the baselines, really leaves the court lacking some flair and personality. Additionally, the new center court logo is significantly smaller than the old Sam logo. This aspect will be further discussed under point number two.
In 2012, if the football helmet is changed, the court (and the rest of hoop’s branding) should likely change as well. This consistency will help give Massachusetts athletics a more solidified athletic identity.
Crickets.
Tumbleweed. Well, there are mentions of hockey’s nice win over Yale. So the media relations team is still functioning, on some level at least. Unfortunately that level is not a very high one.