Bolled over by alums, Texas Tech backs off on new seal (would've removed cotton bolls)

Lubbock Avalanche Journal ^ | 5/6/05 | Elliot Blackburn

[hispanarepublicana]

Bolled over by alums, Tech backs off on new seal BY ELLIOTT BLACKBURN AVALANCHE-JOURNAL

The Texas Tech University System will return cotton's likeness to new designs of the school seal, an administrator said Thursday.

Associate Vice Chancellor Lynn Denton, the system's head of marketing, said the school will develop new designs of the school seal that include symbols representing cotton.

"We've decided that we are going to put cotton plants back into the seal," Denton said.

Alumni became alarmed earlier this week after speculation circulated the Internet that the school was downplaying the Double T logo and removing cotton from the seal.

Officials assured the Tech community that the Double T logo was in no danger of retirement but confirmed at a Wednesday news conference that there were plans to remove 10 cotton bolls crossing the school shield.

Updated and uniform school seals and shields would replace a confusing number of individual college and program logos.

The new designs were created as part of a broader marketing effort, developed over the last year and a half by firms in Lubbock, Austin and Chicago, to improve the school's national image.

The change angered many cotton farmers who graduated from Tech, including Plains Cotton Cooperative Association head Eddie Smith.

Smith was cautious about the announcement Thursday, but said it was encouraging.

"I think that's an excellent first step and then we'll just see how it develops from there," Smith said. "I think it just shows that Tech officials are, as they should be, sensitive to the alumni and the surrounding community."

Denton reported the decision after a two-hour presentation given to Steve Verett, Plains Cotton Growers Inc. executive vice president, and the John Johnson, spokesman for the Plains Cotton Cooperative Association.

Verett, a Tech alumnus, said he told administrators that the best solution would be to make minor improvements to the existing seal.

He supported the university's efforts to better market the school, and was pleased with a productive meeting, he said.

"We appreciate them being able to look at a compromise," Verett said. "It's my preference that the shield stay as it is today and still be used in their effort to move forward ."

Johnson also supported the university's re-branding efforts, but believed the best choice would be to return to the original seal.

"I advised the best way to stop the controversy is not to change the seal at all," Johnson said. "I work for 29,000 stockholders in a farmer-owned co-op, and they have not authorized me to negotiate."

The school seal was designed in 1927 and formally adopted in 1953. Ten cotton bolls representing the 10 cotton producing counties around Lubbock cross the shield.

Changes to the school shield were not part of the compromise. The new cotton image would be incorporated into the larger seal, Denton said.

The newest designs should be prepared in time for next week's Board of Regents meeting, Denton said.

To comment on this story:

elliott.blackburn@lubbockonline.com 766-8722

brian.williams@lubbockonline.com 766-8717

[hispanarepublicana]

Still unclear if the ORIGINAL seal is back or if they are putting cotton back in a prominent position or not. Good work, Raider-FReepers.

[hispanarepublicana]

Guns Up ping! Good work!

[kittymyrib]

They were inundated with emails from alumni and their parents yesterday. The salient question being whether Chancellor Smith has so little to do that he can be messing with the university's seal in all his spare time. I'm glad to see that he's lost another round to the Techsans. He'll just have to live with the fact that when most people hear "Texas Tech" they think of Bobby Knight, not Chancellor Smith.

[TomGuy]

... in them ole cotton fields back home....


PC gets plowed under......maybe [depending on the 'new' designs]

[Donaeus]

Ping

[WestTexasWend]

Guns up and hats off to YOU, hispanarepublicana, for giving us the heads up on this! Nice job, FReeperTechsans!

[TexasNative2000]

"And the victory bells will ring out".

[JennysCool]

Alumni became alarmed earlier this week after speculation circulated the Internet that the school was downplaying the Double T logo and removing cotton from the seal.

It wasn't "Internet speculation" -- Tech annouced that was its intention, as part of its new marketing campaign.

Sheesh.

[TexasNative2000]

Enjoy some music to celebrate.

[MamaTexan]

"We've decided that we are going to put cotton plants back into the seal," Denton said.

ACK!

Translation -- "I've decided to leave the seal alone because too many alumni have threatened to come down here and kick my arse if I don't quit screwing with it!"

LOL!

Educrats....gotta love 'em!

[astounded]

It's gonna take more than that to help TT. Ever been to Lubbock? What a dump, even worse than Waco, and that's saying something....

[hispanarepublicana]

stay the hell out then. we don't want riffraff like you here to enjoy our 80-degree, low-humidity, easy-flowing-traffic (got to work in 15 minutes this morning), gorgeous sunset days like we'll have today

[rwa265]

TT does have an impressive sounding marching band, though. I clicked on the link in post 9 - they sound really good!

[Professional Engineer]

Good deal!

[MeekOneGOP]

Bolled over by alums, Texas Tech
backs off on new seal
(would've removed cotton bolls)

Excerpt:

The Texas Tech University System will return cotton's likeness to new designs of the school seal, an administrator said Thursday.

Associate Vice Chancellor Lynn Denton, the system's head of marketing, said the school will develop new designs of the school seal that include symbols representing cotton.

"We've decided that we are going to put cotton plants back into the seal," Denton said.

Alumni became alarmed earlier this week after speculation circulated the Internet that the school was downplaying the Double T logo and removing cotton from the seal.

Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my Texas ping list!. . .don't be shy.
No, you don't HAVE to be a Texan to get on this list!

Full Texas Ping List

[FreedomCalls]

I think they are going to design a new seal, but this one will have cotton depicted on it -- JUST NOT IN THE SHAPE OF A CROSS. They will have won. They will have managed to stealthily remove the cross from the seal and at the same time make the other side THINK they "won" but really they didn't even see the true purpose of the maneuver.

[hispanarepublicana]

I'd say this deserves a ringing of the bells and a gallop around Jones Stadium, wouldn't you say?

[MeekOneGOP]

Thanks. :)

Glad to see they reversed course.

Way to go, Alum and Freepers. :)

[JFC]

Freepers and many other foreums.. Dr. David Smith said we all had too much time on our hands. We have time to do the right thing.

DUMP SMITH... PICK COTTON.

[JFC]

"And the victory bells will ring out".

fight raiderss fight!!!!