The HBCU Project

[crashcarson15]

Who's ready for another one? Aiight then...let's go.

Staying in the MEAC, we gon' take a lil' venture north of where we just were, in Orangeburg, SC, and cross the Cackalacki border up into Winston-Salem, NC, where we'll find Winston-Salem State University.

Before I get going with this here, I'll be the first to admit I ain't know much at all about this school before I started this project. Many more out there don't even know this institution exists. But in having researched this institution, I've found that this place truly is a "diamond in the rough", so to speak.

Here's a little background from the school, taken straight from the school's website, with additional info via Wikipedia:

Winston-Salem State University was established by Dr. Simon Green Atkins in 1892, and began life in 1897 as Slater Industrial and State Normal School. By 1925, it was renamed Winston-Salem Teachers College. it was the first historically black institution in the nation to grant degrees in elementary teachers' education. The institution's name was changed again, this time to Winston-Salem State University, in 1969, and it merged into the University of North Carolina system in 1972.

Winston-Salem State University is a premier, master's level public institution that develops the skills and values students need to contribute and succeed in the changing economy of the 21st Century. Its world-class degree programs in growing fields such as health sciences, information technology, financial services and teacher education, offer the flexibility to accommodate diverse life situations of both traditional and non-traditional students ranging from recent high-school graduates to working adults. The university's curriculum also prepares all students to use the latest technologies as powerful tools for continuous learning, career advancement and personal enrichment. Beyond technical skills, the WSSU educational experience inspires individual commitment to community service through class-room and field experiences that develop civic leadership and prepare students to make lifetime contributions to society.

So there's that for y'all.

I'm actually quite impressed at the manner with which this institution regards itself...premier, world-class. Pretty much all I've seen and read both of the institution and from students who have gone there or considered going there leads me to believe this place is top-notch, for real.

As for notable alumni, well...some very noteworthy names have come through WSSU's halls. And depending on your view of the two people I'm about to mention, that could be a good or bad thing. Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, is a WSSU alumnus, as well as everyone's favorite loud-mouthed, over-opinionated ESPN personality--wait for it--Stephen A. Smith. Also, for your own knowledge, a woman by the name of Louise Smith was educated at WSSU. She then went on to establish the first-ever kindergarten program in the state of North Carolina. (Read back through the school's bio and you'll see why that's noteworthy.)

On the sports side of the house, we'll find more notable names. Old-timers and history buffs might recognize the name Earl "The Pearl" Monroe, who played for the Baltimore Bullets and NY Knicks way back in the day. More "seasoned" Cowboy fans may know the namy Timmy Newsome--he spent eight years in the 'Boys' backfield. Also countd among WSSU alumni is former Miami Dolphins wideout Oronde Gadsden, as well as--Steelerheads, wait for it--Yancey Thigpen.

*************************************************

So on to the concept now...

For starters, and for those who've never seen the Winston-Salem State Rams football team, well...here's a good look at their former set. (This photo, however, pretty much says all that needs to be said about the "templating epidemic" that runs rampid through college football, especially within the HBCU realm.) Here's a look at their previous road set. Currently, the team uses the same goofy-looking template as the Toledo Rockets, which has them looking like this...right...here.

The one thing that kept sticking out in my mind about this institution was "prestige", and so I tried my best to follow that guiding light while embarking on this concept design (since, IMO, the previous sets did not, and the current sets sho' don't). To that end, I kept this one real simple--no fancy bells or whistles (or piping)--but with a few little embellishment to kinda help the whole set stand out a bit more.

Let's start by looking at the branding package.

As noted previously, WSSU's athletic nickname is the Rams. It's primary (and, other than academic, it's only) logo is that of a ram head--although it's one of the more interesting Ram logos I've ever seen. I actually leaned very heavily on the academic side of the school's branding to help forge the athletic look. As such, you'll see the Goudy Old Style typeface, the school's official typeface, utilized throughout. (This is where this whole thing kinda treads into KU territory, if you know what I mean.) The school has no athletic wordmark, so I borrowed, again, from the academic side, changed it a litttle, and it now stands as the athletic wordmark. As for colors, the school's official red is actually a very bright red (PMS 199 if anyone is interested). It almost looks magenta from a distance, but you know what? I like that bright red, plus I think it's a unique red in college sports--hell, maybe sports period--so I kept it. (I did, however, tone it down justasmidge so it wouldn't look too pinkish.) Depending on your monitor, you may or may not see the difference, The athletic teams currently use black for trim, but in looking in the school's graphic identity standards, I found that the academic side of the house uses two shades of cool grey as secondary colors, which I thought would be great to transfer to the athletic side (since, you know, my Buccaneers have already proven that red and (a darker) gray can work very well together, and since, to my knowledge, no other school currently employs gray in the fashion I have here.

Here's the logosheet:

Most of you probably took note of that helmet sitting up top of that display here. Hell...the team's nicknamed the Rams...why not use them? (And why the school currently doesn't is beyond me.) Take another good look at the primary ram-head logo, and you'll see where I got the idea for the ram horns on the helmet. By now you all also see what I was getting at with the use of the cool gray. I carried that theme througout the uniform. You'll notice the pants stripe has the same type of adornment as the ram horns do on the helmet--that was to add just a tad little bit of flair to this set.

Here's a look at the uniforms:

May be just a bit too plain-Jane for some, but for me...as I said, I figured that'd be the best way to portray something of a "premier" image, even if it does, as I mentioned earlier, tread a little into KU territory (which is a look I really like, by the way).

Oh--and, of course, the whole thing in action:

So here's this whole thing for you all to digest. Let me know what's up with this one here...get at me!

Great work so far...

I love that helmet! A+ on the helmet!

[StarsHockey]

Who's ready for another one? Aiight then...let's go.

Staying in the MEAC, we gon' take a lil' venture north of where we just were, in Orangeburg, SC, and cross the Cackalacki border up into Winston-Salem, NC, where we'll find Winston-Salem State University.

Before I get going with this here, I'll be the first to admit I ain't know much at all about this school before I started this project. Many more out there don't even know this institution exists. But in having researched this institution, I've found that this place truly is a "diamond in the rough", so to speak.

Here's a little background from the school, taken straight from the school's website, with additional info via Wikipedia:

Winston-Salem State University was established by Dr. Simon Green Atkins in 1892, and began life in 1897 as Slater Industrial and State Normal School. By 1925, it was renamed Winston-Salem Teachers College. it was the first historically black institution in the nation to grant degrees in elementary teachers' education. The institution's name was changed again, this time to Winston-Salem State University, in 1969, and it merged into the University of North Carolina system in 1972.

Winston-Salem State University is a premier, master's level public institution that develops the skills and values students need to contribute and succeed in the changing economy of the 21st Century. Its world-class degree programs in growing fields such as health sciences, information technology, financial services and teacher education, offer the flexibility to accommodate diverse life situations of both traditional and non-traditional students ranging from recent high-school graduates to working adults. The university's curriculum also prepares all students to use the latest technologies as powerful tools for continuous learning, career advancement and personal enrichment. Beyond technical skills, the WSSU educational experience inspires individual commitment to community service through class-room and field experiences that develop civic leadership and prepare students to make lifetime contributions to society.

So there's that for y'all.

I'm actually quite impressed at the manner with which this institution regards itself...premier, world-class. Pretty much all I've seen and read both of the institution and from students who have gone there or considered going there leads me to believe this place is top-notch, for real.

As for notable alumni, well...some very noteworthy names have come through WSSU's halls. And depending on your view of the two people I'm about to mention, that could be a good or bad thing. Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, is a WSSU alumnus, as well as everyone's favorite loud-mouthed, over-opinionated ESPN personality--wait for it--Stephen A. Smith. Also, for your own knowledge, a woman by the name of Louise Smith was educated at WSSU. She then went on to establish the first-ever kindergarten program in the state of North Carolina. (Read back through the school's bio and you'll see why that's noteworthy.)

On the sports side of the house, we'll find more notable names. Old-timers and history buffs might recognize the name Earl "The Pearl" Monroe, who played for the Baltimore Bullets and NY Knicks way back in the day. More "seasoned" Cowboy fans may know the namy Timmy Newsome--he spent eight years in the 'Boys' backfield. Also countd among WSSU alumni is former Miami Dolphins wideout Oronde Gadsden, as well as--Steelerheads, wait for it--Yancey Thigpen.

*************************************************

So on to the concept now...

For starters, and for those who've never seen the Winston-Salem State Rams football team, well...here's a good look at their former set. (This photo, however, pretty much says all that needs to be said about the "templating epidemic" that runs rampid through college football, especially within the HBCU realm.) Here's a look at their previous road set. Currently, the team uses the same goofy-looking template as the Toledo Rockets, which has them looking like this...right...here.

The one thing that kept sticking out in my mind about this institution was "prestige", and so I tried my best to follow that guiding light while embarking on this concept design (since, IMO, the previous sets did not, and the current sets sho' don't). To that end, I kept this one real simple--no fancy bells or whistles (or piping)--but with a few little embellishment to kinda help the whole set stand out a bit more.

Let's start by looking at the branding package.

As noted previously, WSSU's athletic nickname is the Rams. It's primary (and, other than academic, it's only) logo is that of a ram head--although it's one of the more interesting Ram logos I've ever seen. I actually leaned very heavily on the academic side of the school's branding to help forge the athletic look. As such, you'll see the Goudy Old Style typeface, the school's official typeface, utilized throughout. (This is where this whole thing kinda treads into KU territory, if you know what I mean.) The school has no athletic wordmark, so I borrowed, again, from the academic side, changed it a litttle, and it now stands as the athletic wordmark. As for colors, the school's official red is actually a very bright red (PMS 199 if anyone is interested). It almost looks magenta from a distance, but you know what? I like that bright red, plus I think it's a unique red in college sports--hell, maybe sports period--so I kept it. (I did, however, tone it down justasmidge so it wouldn't look too pinkish.) Depending on your monitor, you may or may not see the difference, The athletic teams currently use black for trim, but in looking in the school's graphic identity standards, I found that the academic side of the house uses two shades of cool grey as secondary colors, which I thought would be great to transfer to the athletic side (since, you know, my Buccaneers have already proven that red and (a darker) gray can work very well together, and since, to my knowledge, no other school currently employs gray in the fashion I have here.

Here's the logosheet:

Most of you probably took note of that helmet sitting up top of that display here. Hell...the team's nicknamed the Rams...why not use them? (And why the school currently doesn't is beyond me.) Take another good look at the primary ram-head logo, and you'll see where I got the idea for the ram horns on the helmet. By now you all also see what I was getting at with the use of the cool gray. I carried that theme througout the uniform. You'll notice the pants stripe has the same type of adornment as the ram horns do on the helmet--that was to add just a tad little bit of flair to this set.

Here's a look at the uniforms:

May be just a bit too plain-Jane for some, but for me...as I said, I figured that'd be the best way to portray something of a "premier" image, even if it does, as I mentioned earlier, tread a little into KU territory (which is a look I really like, by the way).

Oh--and, of course, the whole thing in action:

So here's this whole thing for you all to digest. Let me know what's up with this one here...get at me!

Only gripe is the grey socks.

[eRay]

I am thinking very highly of this new unveiling. All the sets look great except the all Red IMO. I like dropping the Black for the Cool Gray, it does work very well with that Red. And just FYI, the Cool Gray socks was one of the parts of this concept that made me say, ?That was smart.? Red or White socks there just wouldn?t work right. Very nice job overall, I love the helmet also. Keep ?em coming.

[chestnutz]

Damn you brandon, damn you. That Rams helmet is absolutely beautiful.

[PhilliesPhan1325]

Amazing as usual in this series. The uniforms are awesome, I like the pant stripe resembling the ram a little. I agree that the grey socks work best with the pants. My only complaint, and its a really small one, is the 5 looks a little weird to me.

[BJBerthiaume]

Wow the helmet is awesome. With a team like the Rams, I think you could have done more with the jerseys, but they look great anyways.

[Epiphanic]

This might be my favorite set in the series. As a previous poster mentioned the gray socks probably should be changed. If they aren't going to be red, they should be white so they "flow out of" the white stripe on the pants in the sets that they are used. What's fantastic about the ram-helmet is that it can be white with red or red with white. What I mean by that is that it can be matched with any combination of jersey/pants and look great. More solidly colored domes don't lend themselves to that flexibility.

Outstanding work.

[twi]

My favorite part of this concept is that the horns on the helmet match the horns on the ram in the logo. It would have been easy (and entirely likely in real life) to just do the St. Louis style ones.

[stumpygremlin]

I think it'd be cool to see a gray alternate...or at the very least some gray pants. Just for a different look.

[tBBP]

My favorite part of this concept is that the horns on the helmet match the horns on the ram in the logo. It would have been easy (and entirely likely in real life) to just do the St. Louis style ones.

Yes, that'd have been taking the easy way out...which is why I ain't go there. (Plus, these armholes that pass as sleeves these days wouldn't even have enough fabric to carry the design...as mentioned in my write-up).

I put together a set featuring an alternate gray jersey...but I really wasn't too sold on how it looked. The reason for staying away from gray pants was to avoid something along the lines of what we saw then the UNC football team decided to wear navy pants on the road. It's a nice change of pace for them, but it also made the whole set look navy-dominant, and we all know that UNC is not that. Same with WSSU. Especially since the gray is an alternate trim color for them. Hence the sets shown. I did think about it all, though.

Thanks for all comments thus far. I still got some in the works--and don't worry, Flame...I ain't forgot about your boys at Da House, neither, kinfolk.

[stumpygremlin]

Just wondering when the next one's coming...I miss these

[tBBP]

EDIT: nevermind.

[tBBP]

Here I am again, people.

Been on a bit of a hiatus lately...just ain't had the time I really wanted to do much with these here...BUT, I got new ones in the works, some being reworked and/or tweaked a bit, and some that have just been wrapped up (for now).

So let's get back into this thing here...

When last I left you, we were visiting Winston-Salem State, home of the Rams. For this next one, we gon keep it in the MEAC...for that matter, we gon' keep it in the state of North Carolina...and travel on down to Greensboro, where we'll find North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University...better known to most as North Carolina A&T, or, just simply, A&T. (If the name sounds familiar, you might have seen the movie Drumline...THIS is the insititution that Atlanta A&T, the school featured in that film, bit its identity off of--colors and all. Atlanta A&T don't even exist.

Anyway...on with the background info on this place here, courtesy of both the school's website and Wikipedia.org:

The North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University was established back in 1891, as The Agricultural and Mechanical College for the Colored Race. It was established along with what was then known as North Carolina Agricultural and Mechanical College (now known as NC State), but due to segregation laws in those days, whites and blacks couldn't attend classes together. The predecessor to A&T originally operated in Raleigh. In 1893, it relocated to its current location in Greensboro The original course of study of A&T included language and literature, as well as mathematics, business, agriculture (obviously) and military science. In 1915, the institution became known as The Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina. Later, in 1967, the college gained university status and the name was changed to its current title: North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.

On February 1, 1960, four distinguished freshmen from A&T sparked the civil rights movement of the south. Ezell Blair (Jibreel Khazan), Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, and David Richmond "sat-in" at an all-white eating establishment, known as Wollworth's, and demanded equal service at the lunch counter. Their fervent desire for change and equality inspired many other A&T students to join them in their non-violent protest to desegragate Woolworth's lunch counter. By the end of July 1960, their mission was accomplished and they became the "A&T Four".

Currently, A&T is the largest HBCU in the state of North Carolina. It is one of the nation's leading producers of Black engineers with both B.S. M.S. and PhD degrees.. (In fact, NASA is one of the major partners of AA&T's School of Engineering). It is also the nation's top producer of minorities with degrees in science, mathematics, engineering and technology.

In addition to the A&T Four mentioned above, counted among A&T's alumni is the notorious Reverend Jesse Jackson, as well as his son, Jesse Jackson, Jr. In addtion, Ronald McNair (mission specialist on the fatal 1986 Challenger space shuttle mission), Clara L. Adams-Ender (first black Army Nurse Corps officer to graduate from the U.S. Army War College as well as the first woman to earn a masters from U.S. Army Command & General Staff College), 1980s R&B singer Sybil Lynch, and actress Taraji P. Henson (you know her as Yvette from the movie Baby Boy--you also caught her in Hustle & Flow) count themselves as alumni. Unfortunately, A&T also counts among its alumni Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, one of the suspected 9/11 hijackers. On the football side of the house, A&T, while not exactly a traditional HBCU football power, does boast some star power. NFL Hall-of-Famer Elvin Bethea hails from there, as well as few other former NFLers such as Maurice Hicks and former Saints receiver Jamal Jones.

So there's your background...let's get on to the concept now.

Like pretty much every other HBCU football team not representing Hampton University or Norfolk State University, A&T's current football look is that of Russell's Denver Bronco-style template. Here's another look. For my concept, I didn't stray too far from the overall look...but, I did, however, attempt to create a unique identity that readily says "A&T" upon first sight, courtesy of a few little quips and tweaks here and there.

Let's look first at the logo package.

A&T's nickname is the Aggies (as is the case with many other agricultural/mechanical/technical schools); colors are blue and gold (read: yellow). From a distance, one could mistake A&T for Southern U--a point not lost on me during the course of this project. (Keep that in the back of your mind.) As for the logos, the most common logo is the "AT" monogram, currently featured on A&T's helmets. The Aggies are also represented by bulldog imagery. Its main logo (Or, at least, mine, in this concept) is a bulldog face with spike collar; there's also a "superman bulldog" alternate. The one thing I did to these logos, however, was ax out all the black outlining and make it blue--I saw no need for what I viewed as unnecessary black. I do like the typography A&T uses--I can't recall having seen it anywhere else in sports, and it works well for A&T. I sorta modified the wordmark--and, of course, I also used that as a basis for new numbers (like y'all ain't see that one coming).

Here's the logo package below:

For the uniforms, as I said earlier, I kept the overall look pretty simplistic. Tops are sans stripes--and, for that matter, so are the pants. I did, however, do something a little quirky with the collars, by sorta imitating the dog collar on the logos. You'll also notice I made use of heavy outlines, to follow the lead of the school's current wordmark and "AT" monogram logo, which both use heavy outlining, as well. Gold(en yellow) plays a big-time role in the athletic branding identity of this institution, so I attempted to follow that lead as well, hence why the numbers on the roads are yellow, outlined in blue (just like the current logo set). Here's the uniform sets, both home and away (no alternates for this set):

Not pictured above is a road set with white pants...but, for the curious among us, that set is included in the action renderings of all this here:

Overall...I am kinda pleased with how it turned out, though I ain't 100% satisfied with it. But that's where it is for now. Let me know what y'all thinking about this here...holla @ me!

~Buc

[raysox]

first off, love this series

I like this set, clean and simple

the helmet logo looks really good too

can't wait for more

[BJBerthiaume]

This isn't your best work, but nevertheless it is good work. I'm not one who likes all of these modern jerseys anyways, so overall nicely done. By the way, you created another amazing helmet.

[tBBP]

This isn't your best work, but nevertheless it is good work. I'm not one who likes all of these modern jerseys anyways, so overall nicely done. By the way, you created another amazing helmet.

I agree witcha.

BTW...you owe me a new keyboard for that "from" tag up under your username. "America's Freezer", eh??? (I picked the wrong time to sip some Gatorade when I read that.)

[StarsHockey]

The AT logo looks forced a bit, and it really doesn't look all that good. However, its a great set and a hell-of-a series. Keep it up!

[PhilliesPhan1325]

Nice work. The collar idea is very creative. I like the uniforms' simplicity and the number font fits perfectly. My only suggestion would be to put the bulldog on the helmet.

[BJBerthiaume]

This isn't your best work, but nevertheless it is good work. I'm not one who likes all of these modern jerseys anyways, so overall nicely done. By the way, you created another amazing helmet.

I agree witcha.

BTW...you owe me a new keyboard for that "from" tag up under your username. "America's Freezer", eh??? (I picked the wrong time to sip some Gatorade when I read that.)

Oh, ha. I was just bored of plain old St. Paul, MN.

[tBBP]

Alright...here we go again with this here.

When last I left you, you were in Greensboro, NC, visiting the North Carolina A&T Aggies. For our next trip, we gon hop on I-95 and take it on up north, up near Jigga5's territory, to Baltimore, MD...where we find Morgan State University.

As per thread protocol, here's your background on one of the most well-known HBCUs in the nation, per the school's website:

Founded in 1867 as the Centenary Biblical Institute by the Baltimore Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the institution's original mission was to train young men in ministry. It subsequently broadened its mission to educate both men and women as teachers. The school was renamed Morgan College in 1890 in honor of the Reverend Lyttleton Morgan, the first chairman of its Board of Trustees, who donated land to the college.

Morgan awarded its first baccalaureate degree to George F. McMechen in 1895. McMechen later obtained a law degree from Yale and eventually returned to Baltimore, where he became a civic leader and one of Morgan's strongest financial supporters.

In 1915 the late Andrew Carnegie gave the school a conditional grant of $50,000 for the central academic building. The terms of the grant included the purchase of a new site for the College, payment of all outstanding obligations, and the construction of a building to be named after him. The College met the conditions and moved to its present site in northeast Baltimore in 1917. This was not met without huge controversy, however. In 1918, residents of the white community of Lauraville became outraged at the prospect of a "negro" college being built in close proximity to their community. Those people attempted to have the sale of the Ivy Mill property (the land the school was to be built on) revoked by filing a suit in the circuit court in Towson, which was dismissed. The Lauraville residents then appealed that decision to the Maryland Court of Appeals, which upheld the Towson circuit court's decision. Despite some heinous threats and several protests, the erection of the College went forth. Carnegie Hall, the oldest original building on the present MSU campus, was erected a year later.

Morgan remained a private institution until 1939. That year, the state of Maryland purchased the school in response to a state study that determined that Maryland needed to provide more opportunities for its black citizens. That year, the school's name also changed to Morgan State College.

From its beginnings as a public campus, Morgan was open to students of all races. By the time it became a public campus, the College had become a relatively comprehensive institution. Until the mid-1960s, when the state's teachers colleges began their transition to liberal arts campuses, Morgan and the University of Maryland-College Park were the only two public campuses in the state with comprehensive missions.

As Maryland's teachers colleges began to broaden their objective, Morgan and other like institutions, were placed into a state college system governed by a Board of Trustees. However, in 1975 the State Legislature designated Morgan as a university, gave it the authority to offer doctorates, and provided for it to once again have its own governing board.

In 1988 Maryland reorganized its higher education structure and strengthened its coordinating board, the Higher Education Commission. The campuses in the state college system became part of the University of Maryland System. Morgan and St. Mary's College of Maryland were the only public baccalaureate-granting institutions authorized to have their own governing boards. The legislation also strengthened Morgan's authority to offer advanced programs and designated the campus as Maryland's Public Urban University.

Alumni of Morgan State University have achieved notability in the fields of athletics, science, government and the military. Counted among alumni of Morgan State are Black Enterprise Magazine publisher Earl Graves, the Honorable Robert M. Bell, Chief Judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals (the state's highest court) and U.S. Army (4-star) General William "Kip" Ward, the first Commanding Officer of AFRICOM (United States Africa Command). Also counted among Morgan's alumni are comedian Joe Claire, music producer Jae Deal, and R&B artist Tank.

So there's your historical overview of Morgan State University.

Let's flip over to the athletic side of the house now...

Historically speaking, Morgan State has produced some legenday athletic talent; in fact, in the 1950s and 1960s, Morgan State was something of a "football factory", right up there with Grambling State, in that regard. More than 30 players from Morgan's football teams of that era went on to the NFL. As a matter of fact, in those days, the then-annual contest between Morgan and Grambling State, which was played in New York City in the late '60s, was one of college football's biggest events, drawing crowds over 60,000. Sadly, and unfortunately, while many schools were being desegregated around this time frame, that very same achievement actually led to the depletion of Morgan State's athletic prowess. Today, Morgan and Grambling do not even play each other, and, to further put a damper on things, Morgan's home games rarely draw 10,000 per game with the exception of its Homecoming games. Overall, Morgan has produced four NFL Hall-of-Famers: Willie Lanier, Roosevelt Brown, Leroy Kelly, and Len Ford. Other notable alumni who've moved on to the NFL are Visanthe Shiancoe, Dave Meggett, and former Steeler John "Frenchy" Fuqua.

Ironically speaking, though desegregation depleted--or, at the very least, significantly weakened Morgan State's athletic prowess back in those days, it was the school's lacrosse team that rose to national prominence in the 1970s. This was a very interesting development, for this reason: up until the turn of the century, no other HBCU even fielded a lacrosse team. In those days, lacrosse was a sport dominated by whites; however, being that lacrosse is the team sport of Maryland, it'd only make sense that Morgan State would field one for the state's black lacrosse players who ended up flocking to Morgan State. The team was founded in 1970 by Howard "Chip" Silverman, a white man, with close to 30 prospective players and parts of old donated football uniforms. Silverman gradually augmented the team with black players fromother lacrosse hotbeds such as Long Island, Philadelphia and upstate New York, and eventually, his teams regularly beat the likes of Notre Dame and other college lacrosse powers. In 1975, the Bears pulled off what might be the greatest upset in the history of college sports--a stunning victory over then-#1 ranked Washington and Lee University. Silverman continued to coach those lacrosse teams at Morgan up until 1981.

So there's all that for y'all...hope those not in the know learned a lil' something here today. I sure did when researching more about this school than I already knew!

Alright...on to the concept now.

I been holding onto this one here for a while...making little tweaks here and there, adding things, going back and forth with stuff...even scrapped a finished design and started all the way back over...and well, what I have to present to y'all now is the result of all that. As was mentioned previously, Morgan State's athletic nickname is the Bears; their colors are blue and orange. However, and I'm not sure if this was in place before the present athletic branding identity was put into place, the school also uses two other secondary colors, one a light beige-ish color, the other a muted orange-yellow.

Speaking of that branding package, I'm unsure of who developed this, but it is one very nice looking package. (I know Rickabaugh developed the academic branding package; they may have done the academic package as well, although it looks more like something the Bosack Graphic Design Co would put out.) The school's main logo (or, at least, what I believe to be the main logo) might be one of my favorite logos, period--i call it the "bitch-slapping bear". This logo package also features what I believe to be one of the best uses of Crillee that I've come across since Star Trek: The Next Generation. (Yeah I'm a trekkie...what?!) I did not alter the current logo package; I DID, however, create a new number set (as is damn near customary for me), utilizing the typography style of the athletic logos. Here's that set below:

Now on to the uniforms.

In days past, Morgan's look was rather Boise State-ish (why this is still on the althletic website's headliner for the football team is beyond me); in current days, the football team uses the same damn-near requisite Russell Denver Bronco template; BUT, unlike the Broncos, Morgan's "stripes" are orange on both home AND away (which can lead to looks like this--Denver Broncos, take note). My goal with this set was attempt to draft a uniform style congruent with the overall style of the branding package--which really is something I strive for with all my concepts (which is also why I'm currently reworking my Alabama State set right now). In doing so; the overall look came out looking a good bit like the Carolina Panthers, but I think it fits here nicely. One thing I went back-and-forth on was the orange outer border on the helmet decal. The school currently has it; in this draft, I elected to keep the logos as they were drawn up--that is, sans orange border. Good move/bad move? Anyway, both home and away sets are interchangeable with white or blue pants. Here are those sets for y'all to see:

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