Slight Akron Zips Logo Change?

[Falcon0715]

Just picked up an Akron Zips '07 football schedule poster and it seems to show off a couple new things...

After two years of using their popular "Fear The Roo" slogan, they are changing their slogan this year to "Roo Town: This Is Your Team", with a pretty simple logo. I've seen other stuff around the area lately using this slogan with a silhouette of the city's skyline in the background and they actually look pretty cool. And laugh at "Fear The Roo" all you want, since it may be kind of a ripoff from Maryland, but it's by far the most popular marketing campaign Akron's ever had. You never used to see Akron stuff around the area but now between their new logo package they got about 4 years ago and the "Fear The Roo" merchandise, you see it everywhere. In fact, the Fear The Roo stuff might actually outnumber the things using the real logo that you see it's been so popular.

Secondly, speaking of the "Fear The Roo" logo...it seems to be undergoing some kind of change. I've put the two next to each other so you can see the differences. The new one on the left is the one off the poster and it's also on all their pocket schedules and stuff. The old one is on the right. This new version seems much more detailed, which looks cool, but I don't have any idea why it's tilted and the lower right side of it that the tilt exposes just looks weird. Maybe I'm missing something, but to me it just looks odd, like it's not the right shape to fit with the rest of the kangaroo's head...

Also, to randomly share my opinion...I absolutely love this new style of uniforms Akron has. They really have done a good job of not falling victim to the template craze of late, and looking like every other team with piping and stuff. Plus the slight changes they made last year, by dumping the blue sleeves, adding the Akron under the collar, and a couple other little things have made them look less Rams-ish and gives them a modern, but still kind of traditional look...

[darkshadow1031]

I havn't seen any of the "Roo Town" stuff around, but I havn't been around campus in awhile. The "Fear the Roo" campaign has been really good for Akron, you even get it at Walmart right next to OSU section. And I have to agree, Akron has came out with one of the best uniform sets in college football.

[ars427x]

I agree. "Fear the Roo" is cheesy, but people have really taken to it. I've been seeing a lot more Akron merchandise around town because of it.

[BuddyLane]

Just a question. Is there any more to that logo other than what's displayed as, "Fear the Roo"? I like it, but I want to see more if it exist.

[Falcon0715]

I haven't seen a full version of the new one, though I'd really like to. I have seen a full version of the older Fear The Roo kangaroo head, and may even have a picture of it somewhere, I'll have to look. You never see it though, Akron only uses the version with top half, though for some reason i saw the full-faced version on a t-shirt one time, with a different version of arched "AKRON" above it, that looks similar to what's on the gold alternate basketball jerseys.

From what I understand actually, back when they were going through the whole identity change a few years back, the old athletic administration (most of whom are now at Cinn.) favored the more fierce looking kangaroo used in the Fear The Roo logo, but the school administration liked the less agressive logo package they went with better...so that's what won out. They obviously just kept the more fierce roo off to the side for a couple years, then broke it out as a secondary with the Fear The Roo thing. I hear inside the athletic department, they refer to the primary logo's kangaroo as "Zippy" (like the school's mascot) and have nicknamed the fierce one "Hoppy", who is like Zippy's more agressive alter-ego I guess...

[elliott]

Just a question. Is there any more to that logo other than what's displayed as, "Fear the Roo"? I like it, but I want to see more if it exist.

http://www.sportslogos.net/team.php?t=596

They have very nice logos, and also very nice jerseys...

[BuddyLane]

I was referring to the kangaroo looking at you. Thanks though.

[Joe]

When designing the new Akron logo(s), we presented nearly twenty complete concepts. The "Fear the Roo" kangaroo was one of the concepts (for whatever reason, I can't recall) that ended up on the cutting room floor.

When it was presented, it was complete (full head and type) the cropping is a product of the athletic department.

[walkdesign]

When designing the new Akron logo(s), we presented nearly twenty complete concepts. The "Fear the Roo" kangaroo was one of the concepts (for whatever reason, I can't recall) that ended up on the cutting room floor.

When it was presented, it was complete (full head and type) the cropping is a product of the athletic department.

Are "ROO" sure?