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American Collegiate Athletics Federation (Looking for C&C 9/9/21)


the_grateful_ted

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We'll throw in another one, representing IOWA...

 

Rose & Oak University Owls 

Location: Des Moines, IA

Affiliation: Midwest Union

Colors: Garnet, Acorn Gold, White

"Good Friday" - The Black Crowes

Lcn4CGz.png

I honestly can't fully remember where this name came from, I believe the rose and oak are the state flower and tree of Iowa. Regardless, it rolls off the tongue. Owls don't hold a super significance, I just think they are a very underrated mascot (and honestly there's not too much cool stuff in Iowa to use as inspiration anyway😉). Colors are very rich, red for roses and gold for oak acorns (both will be utilized in the uniforms). I'm very pleased with how this turned out, especially the secondary. Hope you guys enjoy, attached below is the map I've been using in case anyone wants to take a gander! C&C always welcome as usual, thanks for popping by 👍

 

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?hl=en&mid=1Ad1dsSNew59WnTd5FY6BhQ_O8YsKePs6&ll=36.68525576600814%2C-100.33101635035644&z=4

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On 1/14/2021 at 8:58 AM, sleuthpanther said:

We'll throw in another one, representing IOWA...

 

Rose & Oak University Owls 

Location: Des Moines, IA

Affiliation: Midwest Union

Colors: Garnet, Acorn Gold, White

"Good Friday" - The Black Crowes

Lcn4CGz.png

I honestly can't fully remember where this name came from, I believe the rose and oak are the state flower and tree of Iowa. Regardless, it rolls off the tongue. Owls don't hold a super significance, I just think they are a very underrated mascot (and honestly there's not too much cool stuff in Iowa to use as inspiration anyway😉). Colors are very rich, red for roses and gold for oak acorns (both will be utilized in the uniforms). I'm very pleased with how this turned out, especially the secondary. Hope you guys enjoy, attached below is the map I've been using in case anyone wants to take a gander! C&C always welcome as usual, thanks for popping by 👍

 

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?hl=en&mid=1Ad1dsSNew59WnTd5FY6BhQ_O8YsKePs6&ll=36.68525576600814%2C-100.33101635035644&z=4

I'm a fan of those owl logos. Simple yet effective and the color scheme would be beautiful on a basketball or football uniform. Also, as someone who lives a short drive away from Iowa and has many friends from there I appreciate you choosing a mascot for an Iowa team that isn't related to agriculture or tornadoes!

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On 1/14/2021 at 3:16 PM, BobsonDugnutt said:

Those Grand Canyon jerseys are some of the nicest football jersey concepts I've ever seen.

Thanks!

On 1/15/2021 at 8:37 PM, GreenCat said:

I'm a fan of those owl logos. Simple yet effective and the color scheme would be beautiful on a basketball or football uniform. Also, as someone who lives a short drive away from Iowa and has many friends from there I appreciate you choosing a mascot for an Iowa team that isn't related to agriculture or tornadoes!

I consider Iowa and Central Illinois pretty similar (should ruffle some feathers), and they got stuck with the tornado theme :)

 

Moving along, back to Colorado!

 

Rocky Mountain State University Mammoths 

Location: Lakewood, CO

Affiliation: Territorial Twelve 

Colors: Peaks Purple, Pale Gold

"Cold Blooded Old Times" - Smog

B7hlL6I.png

Pretty simple explanation for this one. Rocky Mountains, there are mammoth and other ice-age related animals in them, the rocky mountains are cold like the ice age (?). Purple seemed like a good choice. Sorry guys this one took a while, so I'm kinda phoning in the explanation here 😂 Hope you enjoy!

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My lord, we are full steam ahead, again! I'll try to run through them without taking a whole page of the thread.

 

Eastern Ohio - Clean, simple and solid. I love the history behind every team, but the Barons having an eagle mascot feels weird. Other than that, I think everything else checks out. Both the primary and secondary could split use 50/50 depending on sport. The colors make me think of Notre Dame, which is brilliantly clever because my brain is conditioned to think of Notre Dame as traditional. As a result, it helps this school lean even more towards that traditional style. 7/10 - Would attend.

 

CIIT - Saying the school's name makes my jaw sore, but I like the creativity. The shell is just not strong enough to stand as the primary. Don't get me wrong, it is an awesome logo, but it leaves some to be desired. Maybe if it was in a roundel with the schools name, or (even better) if there was some type of sash on it. Personally, I believe the fox deserves to be promoted based on the historic inspiration. Its a much more fascinating logo, and you executed very well. Btw I appreciate the Nike type of branding you're playing with the color names. 8/10 - Would visit the campus, but don't think I'm smart enough to attend.

 

Polaris University - I think this might be the first double color I am not crazy about. The lighter purple is hitting a little close to pink, while the darker one doesn't feel dark enough. The primary is very clever and I like the direction, but it might need some fine tuning. I like the secondary much more! You could put "Polaris" under it and immediately elevate the logo to the primary sports mark. 5/10 - It's just not the path I want to follow.

 

Rio Grande - Best part of this is the colors. They are vibrant and give a lot of flexibility for unique branding across every sport. I adore the quetzal, and can't wait to see the tail used as the stripe on their football helmets / hockey pants / basketball jersey and short panels. 7.5/10 - Something to squak about.

 

Hall & Oats Rose & Oak - I can't get over this school. The colors are perfect, the owl head logo is probably my favorite of the series and the body option that goes with it only adds to the overall identity. The only thing it is missing is a classy "Rose & Oak" cursive script to use on baseball and throwbacks. I would be excited to wear that secondary on a hockey sweater if I was a student! 10/10 - The look would 100% justify going to school in Des Moines.

 

RMSU - I was expecting more ice and less sand, but I feel like the colors work. At first, I had a problem with the abrupt cut off of the mammoth's leg, but I think my mind processed that it is supposed to be a bent leg, now. The secondary is so simple, but executes. It deserves more words, but at this point I can't stop thinking "CCM font" over and over in my head. 8/10 - It is icy.

 

VMU - Fits are clean and I like how you used the trident wave on the helmet.

CIU - Diamonds are so nice, but I still have a problem with that script! The asymmetric jerseys are fantastic and the colors look good. I'm not sold on the number font because of the tapering on that top bar of the 5. 

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I just discovered this thread and my goodness, these are some amazing logos you've made here! I really like the research you put into these concepts, and I love all the fun and unconventional color schemes you're experimenting with for your teams!

 

My particular favorites are St. Francis of AssisiYucca Univ.Univ. of Northern California, Univ. of Central Oregon, and Univ. of Lake Erie. For SFA, I actually really like how the logo forms "SFA" and a hidden "SEA" at the same time. For UNC, I really like how well-researched that team's look is, and I appreciate the references to the Sundial Bridge and the State of Jefferson (I have a soccer team for that too!)

 

Keep up the great work! :)

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On 1/23/2021 at 3:49 PM, TheHealthiestScratch said:

My lord, we are full steam ahead, again! I'll try to run through them without taking a whole page of the thread.

 

Eastern Ohio - Clean, simple and solid. I love the history behind every team, but the Barons having an eagle mascot feels weird. Other than that, I think everything else checks out. Both the primary and secondary could split use 50/50 depending on sport. The colors make me think of Notre Dame, which is brilliantly clever because my brain is conditioned to think of Notre Dame as traditional. As a result, it helps this school lean even more towards that traditional style. 7/10 - Would attend.

 

CIIT - Saying the school's name makes my jaw sore, but I like the creativity. The shell is just not strong enough to stand as the primary. Don't get me wrong, it is an awesome logo, but it leaves some to be desired. Maybe if it was in a roundel with the schools name, or (even better) if there was some type of sash on it. Personally, I believe the fox deserves to be promoted based on the historic inspiration. Its a much more fascinating logo, and you executed very well. Btw I appreciate the Nike type of branding you're playing with the color names. 8/10 - Would visit the campus, but don't think I'm smart enough to attend.

 

Polaris University - I think this might be the first double color I am not crazy about. The lighter purple is hitting a little close to pink, while the darker one doesn't feel dark enough. The primary is very clever and I like the direction, but it might need some fine tuning. I like the secondary much more! You could put "Polaris" under it and immediately elevate the logo to the primary sports mark. 5/10 - It's just not the path I want to follow.

 

Rio Grande - Best part of this is the colors. They are vibrant and give a lot of flexibility for unique branding across every sport. I adore the quetzal, and can't wait to see the tail used as the stripe on their football helmets / hockey pants / basketball jersey and short panels. 7.5/10 - Something to squak about.

 

Hall & Oats Rose & Oak - I can't get over this school. The colors are perfect, the owl head logo is probably my favorite of the series and the body option that goes with it only adds to the overall identity. The only thing it is missing is a classy "Rose & Oak" cursive script to use on baseball and throwbacks. I would be excited to wear that secondary on a hockey sweater if I was a student! 10/10 - The look would 100% justify going to school in Des Moines.

 

RMSU - I was expecting more ice and less sand, but I feel like the colors work. At first, I had a problem with the abrupt cut off of the mammoth's leg, but I think my mind processed that it is supposed to be a bent leg, now. The secondary is so simple, but executes. It deserves more words, but at this point I can't stop thinking "CCM font" over and over in my head. 8/10 - It is icy.

 

VMU - Fits are clean and I like how you used the trident wave on the helmet.

CIU - Diamonds are so nice, but I still have a problem with that script! The asymmetric jerseys are fantastic and the colors look good. I'm not sold on the number font because of the tapering on that top bar of the 5. 

UEO- Went with the eagle because its a symbol for the US and Germany, and the "Baron" in question was a German baron who helped the US in the revolutionary war :) 

CIIT- The arrow/shell is from a concept I made a loooong time ago, so it holds some sentimental value I guess. I was never really happy with how the fox came out, but oh well!

Polaris- Defintely going to revisit.

RGSU- Thank you! Might revisit to get a better shape out of the quetzal

R&OU- Probably also my favorite so far!

RMSU- I think when I flush out the uniforms it'll look even icier!

CIU- At this point the script is saying, possibly the most aggravating part of the project was getting something half-decent I liked out of that 😋

On 1/24/2021 at 2:25 PM, TheGiantsFan said:

I just discovered this thread and my goodness, these are some amazing logos you've made here! I really like the research you put into these concepts, and I love all the fun and unconventional color schemes you're experimenting with for your teams!

 

My particular favorites are St. Francis of AssisiYucca Univ.Univ. of Northern California, Univ. of Central Oregon, and Univ. of Lake Erie. For SFA, I actually really like how the logo forms "SFA" and a hidden "SEA" at the same time. For UNC, I really like how well-researched that team's look is, and I appreciate the references to the Sundial Bridge and the State of Jefferson (I have a soccer team for that too!)

 

Keep up the great work! :)

Thank you for the kind words! :) Some is research, but a lot are really helpful suggestions given from people which makes it really easy to have a lot of good info to work with! Your thread is awesome, if anything the gold-standard for well-researched concepts 😁

 

On to the next!

 

Tri Rivers University Cavemen

Location: Kennewick, WA

Affiliation: Pacific Frontier

Colors: Neolithic Brown, Columbia Blue, White, Club Brown

"Almost Cut My Hair" - Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

hz3Y3xk.png

School name comes from the confluence of three rivers which this region is centered around, nickname comes from the "Kennewick Man", the oldest human remains found on the continent. Colors are an earthy brown, and a light blue (very nature-y, just seemed right for a caveman). I'm very happy with the primary, an old-school hand holding a club. Meanwhile, I am ABSOLUTELY LOST on the secondary. I tried to go for a chalky cave-drawing-y texture on wood, but I just cant find something I like. Suggestions are NEEDED, thanks in advance guys!

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  • 2 months later...

Howdy everyone! Continuing to update this when I can, whenever I get a jolt of creativity 😁 Let's get things back on track with a little triple feature! Going back down to the grand canyon state...

 

Saguaro State University Quails

Location: Tucson, AZ

Affiliation: Territorial Twelve 

Colors: Cactus Green, Sonoran Gold, Black, White

"A Lingering Love" - Fruit Bats

mDpSYXA.png

Taking a suggestion from the V1 of this school, and repurposing an old fantasy football logo I don't intend on using anymore (but is too good to not use for SOMETHING). Color swap, cactus on the sweater. Quails are the sickest animal in the desert, they'll make a great matchup with the Javelinas from the North!

 

Dakota Tech University Saxons

Location: Bismarck, ND

Affiliation: Midwest Union

Colors: Royal Blue, Black, White

"Blue Prelude" - Jorma Kaukonen 

lckK29l.png

The Saxons were an early Germanic group similar to the vikings. "Bismarck" is named after a german chancellor and the area's ancestry is heavily germanic. I was trying to fit a chainmail like pattern into the primary but couldn't pull it off. The secondary is a dragon head that was typically found on saxon longships (again, similar to the vkings). 

 

Keystone University Vampires

Location: Harrisburg, PA

Affiliation: Power East

Colors: Plum, Rose, White 

"Edward, the Mad Shirt Grinder" - Quicksilver Messenger Service

scrdXyl.png

SOMEONE in Pennsylvania was getting the "Vampires" moniker (-sylvania😋). Seeing as how the Scranton location is going to be more blue-collar themed, the thought is that this one is more of the snooty school (maybe the blue collar school called them vampires because they were rich kids leaching off the state, either way the name stays dammit). Primary is a classy cursive K, secondary is a vampire in the shape of a keystone. I've always wanted to use this nice rosy gold color, seemed to fit well with the theme. 

 

Thanks everyone, C&C always appreciated!

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I am in love with the Quail's color scheme! That is an absolutely gorgeous set. The lack of definition on the Saxons' logo isn't great, it makes it a little hard to interpret. I do like the Vampires' set, it's a solid color scheme and the coffin/keystone/vampire logo is super clever. Great work!

the user formerly known as cdclt

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Agree with @QCS about the Vampires alt logo; gotta appreciate a clever combo, and the colors are really unique. Only suggestion would be to make the hands a bit less square... Maybe round out one of the corners more than the others.

 

Saguaro State is a really nice take on the old-timey fighting college mascot cliche, which I normally really dislike, so kudos to you or making that work. I'd suggest that you just go with gold outlines regardless of background, though; something about the white on gold is bothering me.

Also a good reminder to get back into the Fruit Bats, I started listening to them last winter in preparation for a concert that got canceled by the pandemic and then apparently just they dropped out my rotation, I guess out of disappointment :/

 

Dakota Tech looks good... For some reason, I'd be curious to see a roundel based on that shield, maybe with the dragon head on it?

 

Sorry I didn't respond to these older ones when they came out...

 

Rocky Mountain's primary looks great. The secondary feels a bit strange without any purely horizontal grounding though, so I'd try making the text skewed rather than rotated or having one letter be taller than the other or having the mountain underneath the letters; just something to add some grounding.

 

Besides the colors, not really feeling Tri Rivers. The floating severed arm and club is okay, though a bit odd. As for the alternate, I'd go a carving route rather than a chalk route; that texture isn't working for me. Maybe it'd work better on a log cross-section or something rather than a triangle, and the triangle could be the container for the primary.

 

Iowa & Rio Grande look great, no changes needed.

Polaris has a nice alt logo but the way the points of the star are stacked atop each other for the primary is really offputting... Maybe a Nevada silhouette should go on top instead.

 

Anyways, it's more good work here! Don't know if I'd mentioned it before, but you definitely have some skill with your use of shading and I could stand to learn a thing or two :P

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On 4/27/2021 at 2:12 PM, QCS said:

I am in love with the Quail's color scheme! That is an absolutely gorgeous set. The lack of definition on the Saxons' logo isn't great, it makes it a little hard to interpret. I do like the Vampires' set, it's a solid color scheme and the coffin/keystone/vampire logo is super clever. Great work!

Thank you so much! Glad the color swap didn't ruin the integrity of the set :) Definitely going to rework the secondary saxons logo, might've been a case of overdesign. Thanks again!

On 5/4/2021 at 1:10 AM, vtgco said:

Agree with @QCS about the Vampires alt logo; gotta appreciate a clever combo, and the colors are really unique. Only suggestion would be to make the hands a bit less square... Maybe round out one of the corners more than the others.

 

Saguaro State is a really nice take on the old-timey fighting college mascot cliche, which I normally really dislike, so kudos to you or making that work. I'd suggest that you just go with gold outlines regardless of background, though; something about the white on gold is bothering me.

Also a good reminder to get back into the Fruit Bats, I started listening to them last winter in preparation for a concert that got canceled by the pandemic and then apparently just they dropped out my rotation, I guess out of disappointment :/

 

Dakota Tech looks good... For some reason, I'd be curious to see a roundel based on that shield, maybe with the dragon head on it?

 

Sorry I didn't respond to these older ones when they came out...

 

Rocky Mountain's primary looks great. The secondary feels a bit strange without any purely horizontal grounding though, so I'd try making the text skewed rather than rotated or having one letter be taller than the other or having the mountain underneath the letters; just something to add some grounding.

 

Besides the colors, not really feeling Tri Rivers. The floating severed arm and club is okay, though a bit odd. As for the alternate, I'd go a carving route rather than a chalk route; that texture isn't working for me. Maybe it'd work better on a log cross-section or something rather than a triangle, and the triangle could be the container for the primary.

 

Iowa & Rio Grande look great, no changes needed.

Polaris has a nice alt logo but the way the points of the star are stacked atop each other for the primary is really offputting... Maybe a Nevada silhouette should go on top instead.

 

Anyways, it's more good work here! Don't know if I'd mentioned it before, but you definitely have some skill with your use of shading and I could stand to learn a thing or two :P

In the next round reworks those hands will be reworked, maybe some thumbs? But thank you! Unsure what outline I'll be going with for SSU's final incarnation... but glad to hear the Fruit Bats are getting some love again 😄 (In all honesty I hadn't listened to too much of them before you commented, that was VERY silly of me). DTU and RMSU will be tweaked accordingly! 

Tri Rivers gave me problems for sure.. the carving idea is a good one. Thinking about a different name as well, but we will see. Colors are staying for sure!

Thank you!

I'm going to tinker with Polaris, a state outline as well as some circular-light kinda stuff will be tried. 

I really appreciate that, the programs I use to make these are pretty barebones so I had to get really good at blocking with shading to make my concepts worth a dam 😂 The key really is to imagine a light source coming from one direction... and lots of practice! Always appreciate your thorough feedback, thanks for stopping by as usual!😀

On 5/4/2021 at 11:28 AM, jbird669 said:

That Keystone vampire logo may be the best one of this set. LOVE IT!

Thank you so much, glad it turned out as well as it did in my head!😉

 

Decided to get some more uniforms rolling, enjoy!

 

Georgia Atlantic University Herons

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wjHx10n.png

n8OEaa3.png

First real modern set of the series... think it turned out well! Happy with how the geometric wing patterns turned out, the lavender makes them seem a little shimmery. Lots of uni and pant options, plenty of mix n match opportunity.

 

High Plains University Sauropods

BRbA5D6.png

uLznFT7.png

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And on the exact opposite side of the spectrum, High Plains! Very traditional, black cleats and all. Wanted to use the yoke area stripes to make the whole thing seem "tall" (like a long-necked dinosaur possibly). The blue helmets will be used very sparingly, but I think they're a good looking change up.

 

Alabama Baptist University Bloodhounds

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Mix of traditional and modern to round it out. Flag pattern on the shoulder caps, one of the few non-white away jerseys in the Federation.

 

That wraps it up for today, thanks for checking in!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Got a couple more today. Also I've decided the revision process (for logos) will happen as I make uniforms, by the time the uniform is done the logo set will IDEALLY be finalized as well. So please don't think your awesome C&C is landing on deaf ears, just figuring out the best way for me to complete this whole lil project!

 

Memphis State University Flyers

Location: Memphis, TN

Affiliation: Grand Old South

Colors: Olympic Gold, White

"Double Trouble" - Otis Rush

9jJzB25.png

I've avoided using city names as school names for a while, but certain areas just scream for the use of the city name, Memphis is one of them. Egyptian themed sets for Memphis have been kinda overdone, but still wanted something ancient feeling. Ended up using the Greek God Hermes (The Messenger God, fitting for one of the main Fedex hub in the US) for a pretty traditional look. Not super sold on the secondary, I just thought a winged shoe would look too similar and feel a little redundant. 

 

University of Utica Gladiators 

Location: Utica, NY

Affiliation: Power East

Colors: Black, Victor Gold

"No Quarter" - Led Zeppelin

W0Af7ei.png

Another city named school, this could be a theme for this post... but it made sense! I also just really like the name "Utica", and with its ancient roots I wanted to use something from history as well. Enter the Gladiator, specifically a "Murmillo" helmet as the primary. Secondary is a sword with a victor's wreath. 

 

University of Charleston Cannoneers

Location: Charleston, SC

Affiliation: Grand Old South

Colors: Brick Red, Black, Cannonball Grey

"The Rifle's Spiral" - The Shins

vf22NII.png 

I promise there won't be another city themed team for a while, but again this just seemed right! Identity derived mainly from For Sumter, located right off of Charleston's shores. The primary is pretty self evident, the secondary is a crest  based entirely off the walls of fort sumter. 

 

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy!

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  • 3 months later...

Howdy everyone! Still working through this project while I can, I've been granted unconventional work hours which has given me a lot more time recently. Not posting a lot at the moment, but working in secret on a highly-confidential ACAF project 😉 For now, posting in this thread will be strictly one-off kinda stuff where I'm looking for A LOT of C&C. Starting off, a logo I feel very uncertain about...

 

This one is for the "University of Northeastern Pennsylvania Zaps". Based in Scranton, AKA The Electric City. I thought it would be fun to have a mirror image of the real-life team Akron Zips, so I went with Zaps. The Zips use a super unique animal not found in the US as a mascot (a kangaroo), and I wanted to continue mirroring that with an electric eel. Unfortunately, electric eels are not the most dynamic, fierce looking of animals. If the name just doesn't work, I've also thought about just using a firefly. Below is the logo I currently have. I want to know all your C&C, whether the animal just doesn't work, the pose doesn't work, anything at all! The one thing I'm pretty sold on is the color scheme. Thanks!

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  • the_grateful_ted changed the title to American Collegiate Athletics Federation (Looking for C&C 9/9/21)

These last few have been some real fun ones! I particularly like the character of the Cavemen and Saguaro State, and I LOVE the color scheme for the Vampires!

 

As for Scranton, my only suggestion is to make the eel follow an "S" shape around the logo as it currently looks like it's making a "G" instead. I would definitely still continue with the eel mascot, as that is definitely unique and very underused in sports

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