UWG News Archive

Call for Proposals for New Mascot

April 27, 2005

CARROLLTON, GA - Students, faculty, staff, alumni and supporters of the University of West Georgia are encouraged to submit nominations for the components of the new athletics marketing identity, including a nickname, graphic design for a mascot and word marks, and a sideline mascot.

A “Call for Proposals” form with submission guidelines is available on a new web site recently developed to provide information and updates on the process. To submit proposals by the May 31 deadline, visit http://mascot.westga.edu.

The various components of an athletics identity program include the nickname for athletic teams, graphic design images of a mascot and word marks, and a sideline mascot costume or entity. In addition, a selected athletics marketing identity may be adopted in other areas of the University for such uses as names for newsletters, campus services, etc.

Since the UWG Student Government Association has publicly announced that they will consider any nickname except the “Fire Ants,” it can serve as an example of possible nickname development. For example, if the mascot nickname was the “Fire Ants,” the basketball arena could be known as the “Ant Hill” and a football stadium could be called the “Ant’s Nest.” The campus shuttle system could be nicknamed the “ANTmobile” and food courts could be called the “ANTFarm, ANTeaters, ANTlers, or ANTipastos.” These are simply humorous examples, conceived by Dr. Kent Layton, dean of the UWG College of Education, of how the nickname may be applied in various areas of campus life.

Another more realistic application is the Georgia Tech example. Their mascot is the Yellow Jackets. Their shuttle busses are called “Stingers,” the student ID card is the “Buzz Card” and the money electronically embedded in the card is called “Buzz Dollars.”

The Athletics Marketing Identity Task Force will review all proposals and recommend at least three unranked options for each of these major components for further consideration by the University community. All proposals will include a precondition and release form for use, without any charge or royalty, of any part, modified part or whole of the submission (except in the case of development by a retained outside marketing counsel).

The final decisions in each case will be made by the UWG President’s Advisory Committee. The committee or the University reserves the right to not choose a component piece from the suggestions submitted, but to continue the process further or to engage other professional consultants for work on a specific component piece if necessary.

The Task Force is charged to complete its work (nickname and graphic identity development) no later than Dec. 21, 2005. Until the end of the fall semester, the University’s teams will continue to be known as the Braves, but all references to Native American symbols, imagery and customs will be discontinued.

UWG’s mascot has been changed several times during the history of the institution. Over the years, the mascot has been the Aggies, the Hill-billies, the Bull Pups, the Goats and the Braves.
For additional information on the process, contact Dr. Tara Singer, vice president for University advancement and Athletics Marketing Identity Task Force chair, at 678-839-6447 or via email at tsinger@westga.edu.

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