Jacksonville athletics unveils a bold new brand

Dolphins #DareToBeBold

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – BOLD was the no. 1 goal Jacksonville University had in mind when the school's athletic program revealed a new brand strategy complete with new logos, on Tuesday morning inside of Swisher Gymnasium. 

"The time was right for a complete reimagining of our brand identity," said Athletic Director Alex Ricker-Gilbert. "Within our department these past two years our student-athletes have recorded the highest GPA in our history, captured eight championships and made ten national postseason appearances,. We have also seen a dramatic increase in our fundraising support, sponsorships participation, and attendance at our games. This new brand will appropriately represent us on the national stage and reflect who we are both as a department and an institution."

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The announcement began with a short video that alluded to the deep thought that went into the formation of these marks. The floor at Swisher Gymnasium has been completely revamped with not only new paneling but a new paint job that was officially made public when the new logo became visible at mid-court during the unveil.

Over the last two years, the Athletic Department has teamed with Bosack & Co. whose leadership provides senior-level advertising, marketing, design and communications experience and relationships with advertising agencies, sports leagues and properties, colleges, conferences and broadcast partners. That union worked tirelessly to create the new brand identity that is intended to capture the essence of the Bold City, JU's campus and its deep history.

"It was exciting to imagine and design the new brand identity for the Dolphins," said Joe Bosack, founder and creative director at Bosack & Co. "In these bold marks, we have captured the rich and storied history as well as great trajectory of JU Athletics."

The reverse arch of the new primary logo is a subtle nod to the achievements of teams past, specifically the 1970 men's basketball team that appeared in the NCAA Title game. Led by future Hall of Famer Artis Gilmore, one of only five college basketball players in history to average at least 20 points and 20 rebounds over his entire collegiate career. Gilmore led the NCAA in rebounding in his two seasons at Jacksonville, and his career average of 22.7 rebounds per game is still the highest in NCAA Division I history.

Inspired by our location on the water, our new JU ligature features a flow to it created by the serifs at the edge of the letters, the accent color at the bottom of the letters and "the fin" also gives the appearance of a wave at the bottom of the mark. As a school that is located on the river and a few miles from the ocean, it's an authentic representation of who we are and where we are.

In a true connection to our campus, the updated dolphin secondary logo was born from the iconic sculptures in the center of campus. Powerful and rising, this new logo represents the agility, skill and athleticism of our student-athletes as well as the upward trajectory they've all taken JU athletics.

"This was such a rewarding process," said Scott Bacon, Senior Vice President for Marketing and Communications. "Countless people from our Jacksonville University family helped shape this new look. Thanks to this new identity our athletics department is perfectly positioned to help us enhance our brand perception and raise the profile of the University."

"I want to thank Joe Bosack and all of those on and off campus that helped us with this project." Ricker-Gilbert added. "Their thorough and thoughtful approach is what allowed us to finish with such a perfect representation of Jacksonville Athletics."

The Dolphins new look is available now at the University bookstore and can be purchased online.

#DareToBeBold