LAZipFan

On Proenza, I love the guy. Can you imagine how awful- and totally uncompetitive-- UA would be without the Landscape for Learning investment??

Funny you bring up OSU. The block is classic but the shoe horned "Ohio State" just sucks-- looks terrible and weird. Totally distracting. They have all the branding and marketing money in the world and 80 years of brand heritage and STILL felt the need to tell people who they are. The lesson to me is don't screw up the iconic part of your visual identity- instead, keep it clean but include the descriptor where necessary. Hence the A + Akron works much better than the block O with the name.

I like the new logo. I particularly like how it works with the 'Akron' beneath it, forming a nice structure that fits together as a unified visual element. It feels unique to me and clean, a refreshing update but some on a traditional elements. I don't know if it will stand the test of time- may not prove to be 'timeless'- but I at least like that what it is signaling right now.

Zippy is an amazing mascot-- off the charts, best in class (not just a statement but an actual designation that Zippy won). It is perhaps the single best known and loved element of UA in the community. I think the branding should revolve around "Akron" because that is who we are and no one knows us well- abstracting a little known brand is a terrible idea. I also think the nickname "Zip" is terrible and frankly has always been embarrassing. The only good thing about it was Zippy the mascot. Putin is going to do all he can to corrupt "Z" and make it a symbol of evil in the world. They are using it throughout Russia to rally them to this horrific cause-- and the Russian people are responding. It would be the height of branding stupidity of the highest order to use "Z" as a symbol right now. After Russia is crushed, it will just be confusing and weird so to me still reason to not overly focus on it. Make it AKRON. And make it known.

“Probably the most well-coached and best defensive team we’ve played all year,” Cronin said.

And though I know it's not a popular opinion here, I like the script Akron. I want people to know where this team is from.

That was a ton of fun except that last 4 minutes. Zips came to play. Very impressive given the offense was never really clicking.

*sigh*. Wasn't looking for a moral victory.

eff'n refs... they are trying to put UCLA back into this game

Need to draw fouls

You admit to having USC friends?

I believe...

Wow... wow.

oh boy... Script Akron vs Script UCLA... capt's head will explode

My point was just that I would hate for us to go through a re-brand and then proudly unveil what could end up being the new swastika... and have a welter of coverage about Akron just rolling out its new Z focused logo as Putin was leveling Kyiv, killing tens of thousands, and using Z as the symbol of their victory or whatever. We barely survived I-coach and the Scarphoon. I sure as hell hope we don't bumble into an own goal like this. It's not canceling the letter 'z' (eye roll)- it's having the common sense to realize that this disaster in the middle of Europe will be going on for years (unless Putin gets smoked by a pissed off oligarch) and it would be beyond madness to willing opt to use a logo that is the same as the Russians. I'm all for ditching the script Akron if you can convince Putin to use that instead.

What Russia is doing now precludes Akron using a standalone Z for the foreseeable future.

Dear God please don't roll out a "Z" focused logo while eff'n Putin is using it to represent support of his disgusting invasion of Ukraine. Every Russian tank has a "Z" on it (you can see it as it gets towed away by a Ukrainian farmer).

Opinions are like assholes, of course, so it's a matter of taste. All I can say as someone that doesn't get to see UA very often that when I saw the script "Akron", I instantly liked it. There's only a few schools that have that and the name fits it well. But, as I said, everyone's got one... just so glad for this hire

I just emailed Terry Pluto and said Kent getting blasted in the MAC final and Akron hiring Moorehead in the same day must be some sort of omen of things to come...

The script Akron is instantly recognizable, clearly communicates who we are, and is (at least somewhat) unique.

Totally agree on Proenza- I loved all he did for UA and he embodied quality academics. Had he not pushed forward with the campus re-do, UA would have been merged into CSU or something (if you remember that was the plan at one point and then Lee Fisher visited UA and was like "huh, I thought this was just a community college..." I hope this signals something special about President Miller! It certainly has renewed my interest in UA!!

I haven't contributed to this board for several years-- was just too turned off by the football program (and Scarborough etc etc). But, I am so excited that they pulled the trigger on Moorehead, an incredibly talented, deeply experience coach who actually wants to be here. I can only imagine where we'd be if they had hired him years ago, but that's all water under the bridge. He will get excellent assistants and be a magnet for offensive talent. I'd like to suggest, as a guy in LA, that the Zips do an annual road trip to play a Pac-12 team since he will know all about them. BG is playing UCLA next year which really pisses me off...

I actually really like the script Akron-- feels like UCLA or Pitt which I think are unique-- and more importantly it tells a viewer where this team is from, who it is. I can see using the script Akron as primary and the Z as a secondary logo. The Z is stronger than the old A with the roo for sure. BTW, I am a brand and marketing nerd so my 2cents, while just my opinion, is rooted in the idea that just seeing a 'Z' is to obscure to derive any identity or meaning.