Birds of a Feather Don't Flock Together: Institutional Athletics Rebranding at University of Southern Mississippi

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Fall 2021

School

Marketing

Abstract

The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) Golden Eagles is an NCAA
Division I member institution that participates in Conference-USA. Founded in 1910,
the University colors have remained black and gold, but it has had a variety of different mascots/logos over time. In 2003, USM unveiled an updated and modern “rounded eagle head,” which soon became its most popular and best-selling logo. In attempting to register its 2003 golden eagle logo with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) as a registered mark, USM faced opposition from the University of Iowa. Iowa claimed that the registration of the USM mark would likely result in consumer confusion as it resembled the registered mark of the Iowa Hawkeye. The purpose of this article is to provide a case study analysis of a trademark infringement case involving The University of Iowa and The Board of Regents, State of Iowa v. The University of Southern Mississippi, as well as present an application of the rebranding theoretical framework to institutional athletics rebranding at USM.

Publication Title

Journal of Managerial Issues

Volume

33

Issue

3

First Page

220

Link to Full Text

Find in your library

Share

COinS