💬 Frozen Tide not allowed to be called a Bama team, or use Alabama logo

[PhillyGirl]

Via Frozen Tide Facebook page:

"The University of Alabama Frozen Tide has played the last 5 years with a jersey that was licensed through an agreement with the Athletic Department of the University of Alabama. They have also "allowed" us to use the term Bama Hockey and the logo with the script A and the hockey player for the last ten years.

This is no longer the case. We will not be able to print anything referring to us Bama (or Bama Hockey), nor will we be allowed to make any more jerseys other than which we created in agreements before now. We are no longer permitted to use the old logo. It will remain in places where there would be significant cost to change it relating to the hockey team.

Moving forward we are the University of Alabama Frozen Tide. Same as we always been. We will be provided a new logo by the Athletic Department Licensing & Trademark Office. They provided us with this quote to answer your questions of why these changes are necessary...

“Since the number of club sports and the number of students who are participating in them steadily increased during the past few years, UA is creating a special and unique logo that only club sports can use so that we can recognize and honor the importance, value and benefits of club sports at UA, as well as the commitment and talent of the students who compete in club sports. And, we are also working to implement a cost-effective solution to the challenges of ordering uniforms and equipment.”

There will be an application process for secondary logos. We would like to issue all of our fans who are design inclined to do just that. Design and submit a logo to the University of Alabama Frozen Tide. If your design is chosen and approved by the Athletic Department Licensing arm, it will become a permanent part of Alabama Sports History."

 

[riz]

Interesting.

 

[bama alum]

Terrible move...This is very reminiscent of the Daniel Moore saga. Students who don't get a free athletic ride (yeah, I know there's an academic ride) aren't as important as those who do get the free athletic ride. Maybe that's not what the money-hungry athletic department wants/means, but that's definitely how it looks.

 

[bama alum]

Coach Quennville and I at the Shelby County Alumni Association's pep rally in late July. Check the logo...Why?? Why is this wrong?

 

[PhillyGirl]

Latest post from the Frozen Tide's Facebook page:

"The announcement from last night sparked a lot of discussion on Facebook. This was not the intent, rather it was meant to inform people where the old logo went and why we will not refer to us as Bama Hockey any longer. Please recognize that this is a licensing issue with the Athletic Department, and it does not extend beyond that. They will be providing Club Sports programs with it's own logo that will be distinct from Athletics.

With that said, please recognize that the University of Alabama is the only school at in the SEC (and maybe the nation) that supports its players in the manner that we are supported. There is no person more supportive of this hockey program than President Judy Bonner. She has been on the hockey bandwagon for better than 5 years, and there are many others across the University and Athletic Department that are passionate fans and supporters of the Frozen Tide. The Frozen Tide would not be where it is today without this support. Please do not point fingers or get angry about this, but if you feel you need to contact someone at the University please do so to thank them for their continued major support of ice hockey at the Capstone."

 

[BamaFan334]

They don't want varsity sports associated or "mixed up" with club sport athletes. What a joke Alabama. Guess they're not making any money off the likeliness of these guys.

This is almost like Florida State writing a seize anddesist letter to my high school about changing our uniform and logo, because they thought people would get us confused with them. Yeah, a bunch of mediocre white boys, few black boys, and an average height and weight of 6'0-190 pounds is really gonna confuse some folks to the point they weren't sure if we drove in from Tallahassee on a Friday night.

 

[psychojoe]

Logos and trademarks are touchy issues. U of A backed down to the bake shop that used the script A on its cookies. A few years back a small day care in Orlando hand painted some Disney characters on an outside wall, and Disney jumped in and made them paint over. The ill will caused by these kinds of episodes will likely negate any imagined financial gain.

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

It's a tough situation, and while it sucks, I can understand both sides. That said, I think the University should be more worries about those on the outside infringing on the U of A trademarks, not folks are are technically under their own school's umbrella.