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The 'marks' of institutional identity protected |
The unveiling of the Jaguars mascot and logo is the latest in the evolution of the intercollegiate athletics program at IUPUI. The program began in 1971 with men's basketball and more than a quarter-century later, fields teams in 14 sports.
As of November 1997, IUPUI became a member of the Mid-Continent Conference and in July 1998, was accepted by the NCAA as a Division IAAA intercollegiate athletic program.
Approximately 230 student-athletes participate in IUPUI varsity sports, and many are involved in a variety of community programs. For example, members of the men's and women's basketball teams serve as mentors for the Indianapolis Public Schools in the campus neighborhood. Men's and women's tennis team members conduct clinics for inter-city youth.
JaguarsNew logo symbol of teams, institutional spirit at IUPUI Peeling away a concealing canvas, they revealed an 18-foot wide Jaguar logo painted at the center of the gymnasium floor. "Today our intercollegiate teams become known as the IUPUI Jaguars," said Chancellor Gerald L. Bepko (above right) during ceremonies. "This is a major milestone in the development of our campus. All of us will benefit in the campus-wide pride and public recognition provided by this new symbol of our institutional spirit." Since the early 1970s, IUPUI had been known as the Metros. The new Jaguar logo will retain the school colors of red and gold with complementary colors of black and white. In addition to the uniforms of IUPUI's 14 intercollegiate athletic teams, the new logo will adorn apparel, publications and merchandise. A special design is being created for children. |
Before 1998, IUPUI teams competed in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NIAI), where they compiled an impressive record. Teams won 32 state and regional championships. The women's basketball team reached the Final Four during the 1990-91 season. The women's volleyball team finished second nationally in 1991-92 and the men's basketball team played to the Sweet Sixteen in 1989-90. From 1983-1992, the women's softball team advanced to the NAIA national tournament, finishing third on three occasions.
"Jaguars are powerful, swift and confident, an appropriate symbol of a campus rapidly moving to the forefront of urban higher education," said Gerald L. Bepko, chancellor of IUPUI, in explaining the choice. "Students take pride in wearing and displaying such spirit marks."
IUPUI began the development process last January with the formation of a visual identity committee. The group reviewed work undertaken by SME Design Inc. of New York, a firm known world-wide for the development of images for professional and collegiate sports. Around a dozen separate groups were involved in the creation of the new name and image. The groups provided the views of students, faculty and staff, campus administrators and the community.
"We sought input from many throughout the campus and community in the development of IUPUI's new spirit mark," said William Kulsrud, an IUPUI business professor and chair of the visual identity committee. "This new spirit mark belongs to all of us."
By Susan Williams
Nearly everyone likes to identify with a group to gain a sense of belonging, and a common way of displaying membership is to wear the "mark" -- the new IUPUI Jaguar, for example -- on a sweatshirt, cap or jacket. The mark not only signifies a connection, but becomes symbolic of associated, valued qualities those wearing it hope to draw into their own identities.
Something so powerful deserves to be protected -- that's the job of those in Licensing and Trademarks, a department of Indiana University's Advanced Research and Technology Institute (ARTI).
"A trademark, or 'mark,' is any word, phrase, symbol, design or product configuration, group of numbers, letters, symbols or combination of these, adopted and used by a company or university to identify its products or services," explained Jenny McDaniel, ARTI's interim director for licensing and trademarks.
"Primarily, marks are used to prevent consumers from becoming confused about the source or origin of a product or service. So as consumers become familiar with particular marks, the marks acquire a secondary meaning. Most often, this is an indicator of quality."
While IU produces many of its own products bearing the marks of all eight campuses, there are plenty of vendors who want to cash in on quality. McDaniel and her crew field anywhere from seven to ten such requests per week.
Hopefuls must complete an application, which is returned to McDaniel along with a non-refundable fee of $100, a sample of the product, financial information and customer references. Licensees are required to carry comprehensive liability insurance, including product and contractual liability insurance and also must pay an annual Advance Guarantee Royalty.
"The most interesting and unique licensee we have is The Pasta Shoppe, which makes IU pasta," McDaniel said. "I also have a candidate for the most tasteless request, but I won't tell you about that one!"
McDaniel's office is also responsible for protecting all IU marks.
"IU marks are protected by state, federal and international law," McDaniel explained. "We hire a company of private investigators, which helps us identify and expose manufacturers and distributors of counterfeit IU merchandise."All revenues generated through the licensing program help support university athletic programs, scholarships on all eight IU campuses, and ARTI.
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