As promised in The State of OhVarsity, I’m back and better than ever. The horseshoe logo that inexplicably had a football and basketball inside of it is official dead. It was terrible and my restless self couldn’t take it any longer.
OhVarsity! 2.0 has arrived. The font is heavier, the angles are sharper, and the background photos are grainier.
I felt like I needed something much more simple and to the point. Literally putting a football and basketball in the logo was way too “on the nose.” I’m going to assume anyone following on Twitter or reading on the blog knows what I cover. After a while, those stupid things felt like wearing a name tag to a party with all of my best friends. We get it.
The primary color for the new logo will be red. It’s a bit more fiery and bold than the old muted black logo. When necessary (like in the blog header) there are two other colors available: white and off-black.
Another thing I’ll be doing with the re-brand is taking the opportunity to incorporate old imagery into things. Here are some cool photos that also showcase the new logo colors:
The 1985 marching band with the white logo.
A 1968 photo with the red logo.
A 1967 photo with the off-black logo.
I’ll be using some old photos for different design elements, especially in the header. This header is a photo from 1968.
That guy in the center of the blog’s banner is Jim O’Brien. The photo was taken as fans stormed Nippert following the 1968 finale against rival Miami. Trailing by one point with three seconds left, O’Brien (a receiver and kicker) strode onto the field and banged home a 47-yard field goal to give the Bearcats a 23–21 victory.
O’Brien was a scoring machine in 1968. He led the nation with 142 points, beating out a guy named O.J. Simpson by 10 points. At the time, his performance was #5 in NCAA history.
Interestingly, O’Brien’s 1968 kick wasn’t his most famous walk-off winner. After being drafted by the Baltimore Colts in the third round of the 1970 NFL Draft, he hit a game winning field goal with five seconds left to give his team a victory over the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl V.
O’Brien also played basketball for the Bearcats, and graduated from Cincinnati’s Aiken High School.
I hope you enjoy the new digs. Look for more OhVarsity updates and expansion as the offseason wears on.