By Stacy A. Anderson
NYT Institute

Grambling State University officials say any controversy over the school losing its rights to its distinctive “G” logo is overblown.

“No logo has been finalized at this time,” spokeswoman Vicky Jackson, said, adding that the university is working on creating a “standardized look.”

The Associated Press reported May 25 that the school was pursuing a new logo since its rights to the logo lapsed nearly seven years ago. The “G” logo is currently controlled by the NFL’s Green Bay Packers.

“It’s not trademarked by the institution, so we can’t control the revenue from it,” Jackson said. “We’ve never owned the ‘G,’ but we’ve had permission to use it.”

Russell LeDay, president of the university’s Elizabeth Robinson Alumni Chapter, said changing the school’s logo is necessary as part of a larger effort to bring the campus together around one symbol

He said the university plans to “modify the logo, not destroy it.”

A committee, which includes staff, faculty, and students, will make a recommendation to the university’s Cabinet, which will make the final decision on the logo. The university’s licensing office has always dealt with these issues, but the committee was recently established to organize all branding and trademark matters, including the logo, school seal, letterheads, business cards and motto.

If Grambling patents an original logo, it will have sole ownership over its brand and will be able to license it out to others. “We will be able to receive appropriate royalties for our name,” LeDay said.

LeDay said many other schools, such as Louisiana State University, Southern University, and Prairie View University, have redesigned their logos.

“It’s an effort to get hold of potential revenue that universities are not realizing,” he said. LeDay estimated schools are missing out on the opportunity to profit by millions of dollars.

The emphasis on logo ownership stemmed from the efforts to make Grambling more integrated. “We wanted to make certain everyone on campus used the same logo on business cards,” LeDay said. “We wanted to become more unified.”

University officials said the logo issue has not caused much of a stir on the Grambling campus, despite several media reports to the contrary.

“It’s not a big deal,” said Elaine Thomas, an employee in the Office of Alumni Affairs. “The media is blowing it out of proportion.” Thomas said that to her knowledge, only one alumnus has complained about the proposal.

Other alumni said they are weighing both sides of the new plan. “I can see some advantages and disadvantages,” said Linda Jones Mosley, president of the Desoto-Grambling Alumni Chapter in Mansfield, La. “The school will have to make quite a few changes,” she said, in regards to manufacturing paraphernalia with the new logo.

“But then again, it’s like throwing away something we’ve had for so long,” she said.

School officials say the new logo will not vary too much from the current one and will likely incorporate a tiger, the school mascot, into the design.