{"id":88,"date":"2018-09-13T12:17:32","date_gmt":"2018-09-13T19:17:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/?p=999918535"},"modified":"2018-09-13T12:17:32","modified_gmt":"2018-09-13T19:17:32","slug":"long-beach-state-lbcc-rebrand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/long-beach-state-lbcc-rebrand","title":{"rendered":"Long Beach State gets gritty, LBCC embraces the Viking in athletics rebrands"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mascot changes, new logos and alternate uniforms are becoming more common in the sports world, and both Long Beach State and Long Beach City College have joined that trend by rolling out new logos and names this year. The Long Beach institutions of higher learning took input and worked the rebranding process on their own campus, and while Long Beach State has decided to move away from its mascot, the LBCC Vikings are embracing theirs.<\/p>\n

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Long Beach State’s new logo for athletics teams. Courtesy Long Beach State.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Long Beach State<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Athletic Director Andy Fee inherited a logo and naming crisis when he arrived on campus last year. The university has struggled for years with the dual branding of\u00a0Long Beach State and Cal State University Long Beach, and it has been phasing out the 49ers moniker and Prospector Pete mascot since 2013. Since then, the athletic department stopped using 49ers in press releases and stopped having Prospector Pete appear at games. Instead, the athletic department refers to its teams as The Beach.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the name issue, there\u2019s certainly passionate people on both sides, but most people don\u2019t care,\u201d Long Beach State President Jane Close Conoley said last year. \u201cI want to be cautious about moving ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year, the campus’s Associated Students Incorporated voted to form a committee on the 49ers issue which decided to move forward with changing the mascot\u2014citing prospectors as being representative of the Gold Rush that caused “Indigenous genocide.” The entire student body will eventually have to vote on that issue. This week, the university also announced it will be moving the Prospector Pete statue that\u2019s on upper campus into an alumni visitors center that hasn\u2019t been built yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very excited about our rebrand,\u201d Fee said. \u201cToday we need to be more conscientious about our mascots and affiliations. We strive for inclusive excellence here, and we need to do that in everything we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Close Conoley told the Daily 49er<\/a> that the Cal State University system has requested that its schools move away from individuals as mascots. The campus newspaper and 49er Shops on campus have not announced any plans to change their names.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had focus groups and campus conversations about all of these changes and more,\u201d said university Associate Vice President for University Relations and Communications Andy Hoang. \u201cThis campaign is about unifying the university, but it is like changing tires on a moving car.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoang and his staff have been working with the athletic department for two years trying to rebrand their sports teams without the 49ers mascot, and the BE\/CH logo is their look for the future. Fee said he wanted to make sure to incorporate the pyramid shape because the Walter Pyramid is the only pyramid in the world that hosts year-round sporting events.<\/p>\n

Along with the new BE\/CH logo, Long Beach State will adopt darker colored uniforms and signage at facilities. There is also a new dark stain on the Walter Pyramid floor that features the \u201cLB\u201d logo at center court for the first time ever. Fee said he wants the colors and style of the university logos to match the grittiness of Long Beach.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to be more inclusive,\u201d Fee said. \u201cWe\u2019re not just Second Street and Naples, which is a great part of our town, and has been phenomenal with us, but this city is more than that. I think we need to acknowledge that. The history of this town, in my mind, was built with shipping and commerce and a rich tradition. We want to have a gritty, aggressive look to who we are. We\u2019ve got exciting new uniforms that look like our city\u2014that blue collar, gritty, in-your-face and out-work-you attitude.\u201d<\/p>\n

VIDEO<\/strong>: Fee talks about having multiple names for the university<\/p>\n