Atlantic Hockey - Fixing the Worst College Conference Logo

MDGP · December 16, 2023

College hockey, like many of the smaller and/or regional sports sanctioned by the NCAA, is structured much differently than the more familiar sports. Division I Men's Hockey features only six conferences, with the Big Ten being the only conference to host universities across multiple sports. The other five exclusively host hockey, being: Hockey East, CCHA, ECAC Hockey (not affiliated with the larger ECAC), NCHC, and Atlantic Hockey Association.

Of the conferences, the Atlantic is by far the worst by just about every metric, with the 16th and final seed in the National Tournament colloquially referred to as the Atlantic Slot. This is due to its eleven member teams being so noncompetitive that, usually, its only representative is the the conference's autobid champion in that final slot.

The conference also has the absolute worst conference logo I've seen in college sports at any level. This logo is not a joke, it is actually what a Division I conference uses to represent itself.

Needless to say, this logo barely befits a youth hockey league let alone an actual collegiate conference. I decided that I was going to take a shot at designing a new logo that isn't a complete embarrassment.

The best conference logos are generally simple, easy to read, and identifiable even in smaller applications. I also wanted to make it quickly apparent that this is a hockey specific conference. I took the conference's little used acronym "AHA" and made it the focal point, with the A's titled towards the center and the outer legs designed to appear like a hockey stick. Ultimately the design is simple, but easily recognizable and versatile in its application. Below is the new logo side by side with the other current conferences, and below that a patch version of the logo in the various color schemes of its member schools.