The Collegian

Issue date: 8/28/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Zack Farmer All fixtures inside McKeon Pavilion have been updated with the new emblem.

Saint Mary's pride in its history and tradition can be seen all over campus, from the banners outside of Oliver Hall celebrating past presidents to the newspaper clippings inside McKeon Pavilion honoring the dominant football teams of the past. It was in this vein of thought that the College decided to shed its primary logo of the past six years in favor of the new design that was unveiled this July during Reunion Weekend.

To essentially re-establish, or for some, define what a Gael truly is for the first time was no easy task. After the school's first effort at a redesign failed in 2003, the athletic department decided to start from scratch in June of 2006. "We assembled a broad committee to encompass all opinions," said Athletic Director Mark Orr. "We didn't want to make this an athletic department decision."

"At first I thought, 'oh ok, whatever it's probably just a bunch of student leaders,'" said Gael Force President Whitney Lopez '08 on being chosen as a representative. "But then when I got there it was only two students and I was very honored that my opinion to represent the student body was taken so highly."

While the committee was being formed, representatives from Osaki Creative canvassed the campus, asking what students, faculty, staff thought a Gael was. Between nearly 100 of these individual interviews and the guiding themes of "family, unity, brotherhood, and pride" decided upon by the design committee, Osaki had more than enough to build on.

"Osaki initially came back to with close to 50 different designs, ranging from humanoid Gaels to monograms," said Mike Samuels, director of marketing and advertising.

From that point, input from the committee narrowed the choices down to similar variations of the current monogram. "The committee liked the 'G' in the logo. There was a similar option with a cross in the place of the 'G' and while that might have worked to represent the school in general, it wasn't a good choice for athletics," said Samuels.

The most profound change was the addition of the shield, a nod to the warrior qualities of a Gael. The few images of the namesake that were present around campus were ambiguous and unofficial renderings, ranging from detailed noblemen to humanoid knights.

Continued...

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