When Western Michigan University Athletics fans learned the ‘circle w’ logo was painted on Lawson Ice Arena, many expressed their displeasure through social media.
WMU fifth year and former WMU baseball PA announcer Sam Longstreth felt the academic rebrand was needed, but was confused as to why the new logo was being used for athletics.
“I was like wait a minute… I thought this was just an academic thing,” Longstreth said. “Why is this going all the way to athletics?”
WMU Athletics Director Kathy Beauregard recalled transitioning logo licensing for WMU Athletics to Vice President of Marketing and Strategic Communications Tony Proudfoot’s office soon after he was hired in 2018.