Oregon State’s new logo leaked?

Has Oregon State’s new logo from Nike and Tinker Hatfield been released? Is this the genuine article? Beaver Byte breaks down the clues to make as good of guess as seems possible at this point. Let’s start with the words of someone who first saw the logo two months ago. He described it then in a post on Angrybeavs as appearing to look like a 4-iron. Does it? Actually, in a way yes. I could see with the angles it has, potentially coming up with such a description. It could even be described as a Callaway Big Bertha if one wanted. Beaver insider Brandon Sprague woke up this morning also wondering if this was indeed the new logo? The clues continue so lets break them all down.

Another potential reason this could be legit is the security dongle at the top of this T-Shirt. I snipped the image just below it for a more attractive picture but trust me it is there. Would Nike have made such a shirt and put their mark on it for it to be fake? It’s a difficult question to be sure of but go ahead and form your own opinion on that. Personally, I may be happier with this as the secondary logo and perhaps it is. Nike has had some indications that they would like to bring ‘OSU’ back. The one holdup in my opinion is that Oklahoma State is using OSU at the center of their field. To not be too similar our OSU would almost have to be diagonal to stand out enough. Bottom line I could live easier with any logo in the center of the field as long as there is a secondary logo somewhere else that helps to better proclaim the Oregon State brand.

What I mean by that is the Reser logos do nothing for me and appear dated. It is difficult to have a top notch brand for Oregon State with the Reser logos taking too much field real estate and not really screaming premier athletic institution. I could see using this new logo or whatever we end up with as secondary in the spot the Reser logos are at now, or even in one end of the endzones which hopefully have a checkerboard or beaver tail waffle design as has been hinted. Then a big bright orange and powerful diagonal OSU in the middle would make the whole look pop and represent Oregon State to the nation well. Either that or put the new logo in the middle and have ‘OSU’ in the spot of the Reser logos. Unless Pat Reser is ready to make a significant contribution to the program now then I would rather go with selling the university and state community as a whole.

Here is Sprague’s timeline of tweets today:

Brandon Sprague‏@BrandonSprague
Woke up and saw some potentially leaked photos of Oregon St’s new logo. Exactly how it’s been described to me. Not sure fans will like it.

Brandon Sprague‏@BrandonSprague
Also, as it was described to me, be ready to see a new mascot. I was told Benny the Beaver you know now, will have a completely new look.

Brandon Sprague‏@BrandonSprague
So let the mystery logo dilemma begin. Just got word from a friend that the logo we’ve all seen today is NOT the logo for re-branding.

To me Nike has known that it is supposed to keep whatever new logo OSU gets under tight wraps. A little slip of a secondary logo is not a huge deal. Maybe this could be the new decal for the helmets and that might appear on the upper pants area. If so, and the grand reveal is still a couple months away, then that could be OK to keep the buzz going. Still, I would want to see alot more as far as how the whole field looks and what we get for endzones that will make a statement and get Oregon State talked about in a good way nationally. Taking in all the clues this logo could have some legitimacy but we just don’t know. If it is a new logo I think it is only 1/3 and less than half of the overall rebrand we have coming. I think we may still get something else at the center of the stadium.

Whatever we ultimately get in the coming couple months or so lets hope we don’t just get a relatively boring Oregon State in the endzones. I want to see the rumored checkerboard like theme and also want the basketball court to have more energy and life. I don’t believe OSU can survive sticking with a too old look of young men from the 50s in their tight shorts. This logo is imperfect, but it does have some strengths if used as one part of a more impactful whole. It is up to Nike to make sure Oregon State gets an overall rebranding effort that is going to sell hats, shirts and get people excited both statewide and nationally in the program. This logo has room for improvement, but is a step in the right direction if the rest of what is yet to come is even better and can incorporate a new beaver logo successfully.

A beaver is not the easiest thing to design and that is part of why I still think we will get something good as an ‘OSU’ part to all of this. When the 4-iron thing was first talked about two months ago there was also mention that Oregon State may use a double logo. The person basically made it sound like the middle of the field could have OSU and a beaver kinda like how LSU’s logo has the tiger and the LSU. I am not sure that is my favorite idea and I could maybe accept it but to me it makes more sense to separate them and not have to condense a look because we are needlessly getting stuck with Reser logos that don’t do much for Oregon State’s brand.