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Eliminating the A-Roo


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The AD (to his credit) responded to my email I sent him about the A-Roo and how it is seemingly disappearing from athletics. I specifically asked him if it is being eliminated. Here's his response:

Matthew:

Thanks for the question about our logo and you are correct, we are moving towards the “Z” logo. Lots of details to work out and a formal launch of this will come soon. We are excited about promoting the “Z” on a national level.

We appreciate your support. Go Zips!

Tom

Make of it what you will.

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Use of the Z was on the rise before Dr. Scarborough arrived, you know, back in the good old days when folks in Akron didn't know the difference between a polytechnic and a prophylactic.

No, gosh darnit Dave, it's a vast conspiracy alright!? :rolleyes:

But seriously...Akron has a much bigger identity problem than I thought it did.

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Use of the Z was on the rise before Dr. Scarborough arrived, you know, back in the good old days when folks in Akron didn't know the difference between a polytechnic and a prophylactic.

I still don't know the difference. You yourself posted the quote from Scarborough stating that most people don't know what a polytechnic is and I haven't even read the syllabus for Polytechnic Appreciation 101 yet.
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The AD (to his credit) responded to my email I sent him about the A-Roo and how it is seemingly disappearing from athletics. I specifically asked him if it is being eliminated. Here's his response:

"Matthew:

Thanks for the question about our logo and you are correct, we are moving towards the “Z” logo. Lots of details to work out and a formal launch of this will come soon. We are excited about promoting the “Z” on a national level.

We appreciate your support. Go Zips!

Tom"

Make of it what you will.

Like all Athletics Department decisions made under TW, I'm sure this one was well thought out with input from those in the know and studies identifying all of the great things to come with the "Z" logo.

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really don't care either way, but picking something and sticking with it would be nice.

That's really what we need. It's hard to build a brand when you change the branding every few years. Find something that's good, and stick with it. Marketing for a university means playing the long game.

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Shocking…..nobody likes it. :rolleyes: I like the Z :cheers:

Just because TW and his friends and relatives don't like the A-Roo, doesn't mean those of us who graduated from UA don't. I know a number of UA alumni who like it including one who does graphics for a major corporation in NEO. The Z is definitely a zero.

And for those who say it's just a logo...join the real world. Logos represent the product and certainly affect marketing and merchandising.

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When the brand and team suck and associated with losing isn't that when you usually make a change in your brand/logo? Zip_ME87, what good do you associate with the A-Roo?

Hell, even Gerry Faust got that when he came in with the moving A (he/they wanted to change things)

I've got to start adding these up….maybe make a new thread;

1- Scarborough took the UA presidency to destroy The University of Akron

2- TW is changing the logo because he and his relatives like it

3- Lebron is a traitor for going to Miami and winning championships

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When the brand and team suck and associated with losing isn't that when you usually make a change in your brand/logo? Zip_ME87, what good do you associate with the A-Roo?

Where should I start?

1x National Championship (M. soccer)

1x NCAA Tournament Runnerup (M. Soccer)

1x MAC Championship, first ever (football)

1x MAC Championship, first ever (W. Basketball)

3x MAC Championships (M. Basketball)

11x MAC Championships (M. Soccer)

14x NCAA Tournament Appearances (M. soccer)

+ Just about every other major achievement of UA athletics

What have we accomplished with the Z as a centerpiece: Lost just about every nationally televised game with the "Z" in both Basketball and Football that I can remember. The arguement of rebranding athletics, just like the arguement for rebranding UA, falls flat on it's face.

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Where should I start?

1x National Championship (M. soccer)

1x NCAA Tournament Runnerup (M. Soccer)

1x MAC Championship, first ever (football)

1x MAC Championship, first ever (W. Basketball)

3x MAC Championships (M. Basketball)

11x MAC Championships (M. Soccer)

14x NCAA Tournament Appearances (M. soccer)

+ Just about every other major achievement of UA athletics

What have we accomplished with the Z as a centerpiece: Lost just about every nationally televised game with the "Z" in both Basketball and Football that I can remember. The arguement of rebranding athletics, just like the arguement for rebranding UA, falls flat on it's face.

Funny, I have NEVER seen the Donkey-ARoo on any of UA's soccer jerseys, warm ups or Cub Cadet field. Not sure I have seen it on any of our basketball jerseys either (our most successful teams)…..I do believe our basketball team has worn the Z for a while as they win 20+ games per season, MAC Championships - pretty good accomplishments.

​What has the football team accomplished in the first year wearing the Z….well, we won more games last year than the previous 4 combined with the donkey logo.

Also, when we almost beat Michigan with the white Z, people commented to me that our uniforms and the Z looked really cool. The looked pretty good beating Pitt too.

http://www.lostlettermen.com/slideshow/cfb-top-10-ugliest-helmets/

http://uniformcritics.com/football/college/akron-zips/

Quote - “That weird animal in Akron’s primary logo within the capitalized A is actually a kangaroo. It first appeared on the Zips’ gold helmets in 2002 along with an updated custom font.”

Quote - "Alas, it just doesn’t look like she belongs on a football helmet. It’s also hard to tell that she’s a kangaroo. A quick glance and you’d think she’d be anything from a deer to a donkey. And the back of the ‘roo crossing the “A” is just ill-conceived. Perhaps an Akron creative arts major can create a demon kangaroo for the school’s teams."

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Funny, I have NEVER seen the A-Roo on any of UA's soccer jerseys, warm ups or Cub Cadet field. Not sure I have seen it on any of our basketball jerseys either (our most

You're joking right? After we won the national championship in 2010 everything with soccer has had the A-Roo logo inside of the blue oval, with one star over it on just about everything involving the program, including the on the field jerseys. The warmups have THAT logo too. It's also on the bags and everything else related to the team. When I was flying to New York a couple of weeks ago I saw one of the coaches in the Akron-Canton Airport. How did I know he was a soccer coach? Because he was wearing A-Roo in blue oval with a star over it gear, with a bag that matched.

If you went to the basketball game where all the soccer alumni came you recieved this poster with the very logo I'm talking about on the bottom.

Now, I'm not saying that I hate the Z logo...I just think it's asinine to completely eliminate the A-Roo. My coffee cup in front of me as I type this, has a giant A-Roo on it. Half my gear has the A-Roo on it. Moving A was very obviously dated. It looked like it was from the 80's. The A-Roo doesn't look dated at all.

We should not be in the business of eliminating logos. Find new and interesting ways to encorporate them. A couple of years ago the new Rowdies shirt had a Z logo with the A-Roo Logo superimposed inside it. That was a really cool, modern shirt that utilized two of our unique logos. I liked it.

Athletics should be creative, not lazy. Changing from A-Roo to Z is lazy.

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