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Wisconsin State Muskies - Helmet Concepts


illwauk

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First off, a little background...

A few years ago, there was a referendum at my school, UW-Milwaukee, about whether the school's name should be changed to the University of Milwaukee or Wisconsin State University. Long story short, the people who wanted U of M (myself included) and the people who wanted WSU couldn't get on the same page, so it remained UWM even though more than half the students favored a change.

So this is something of a "what if" concept. I decided on going with Wisconsin State (despite what I voted for in real life) because I thought that sounded more collegiate than "Milwaukee" and therefore a better choice for a fantasy college. I figured that a mascot change would accompany the name change since that's it's happened every other time the school has changed its name. I chose Muskies because it's (obviously) more unique than Panthers and it seemed more appropriate that a school that now represented the entire state of Wisconsin. For those who don't know, Muskies are the largest predator in the Great Lakes and the state fish of Wisconsin.

I also changed the athletic gold back to the old gold that UWM used occasionally before athletic gold became standard around 1999-2000 for no reason other than I like old gold better. Although I decided not to do any old gold helmet concepts because I feel that if you wear old gold helmets in college football, you'd better be Notre Dame or Army. I'm going for a simple, iconic look here (which all great college football helmets have).

Anyway... you know what to do...

wsu_muskies_helmet_v2.png

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I was hoping you had used a muskie image. Anyway, the white shell with Muskies text is the best. I've always found the map of WIS to be awkward looking whenever used in a logo.

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"One of my concerns is shysters show up and take advantage of people's good will and generosity".

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My favorite helmet is the white WSU one. My concern with the state logo is that that big flat state line at the bottom will be somewhat distorted on a spheroid surface, and the Muskies script over it clutters it a little. The shape of Wisconsin is distinctive enough that it could stand on its own as a helmet logo for Wisconsin State. Maybe double-outline it, gold state, white inner trim, black outer trim? It's a good color scheme. White is my ideal helmet color, but I wonder if it almost has to be black to be in opposition to Madison's white helmet.

♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫

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Uh...have you cleared this with Lakeland College's Muskies?

As if UW-M would need approval from Lakeland College.

I agree that Muskies isn't appropriate for Milwaukee, the area is too urban for such a mascot, and on a logistical stand point it fits but most Wisconsinites (and non-Wisco's) would agree that its not a very exciting mascot. The color scheme I understand is concurrent with today's panther's colors but too unoriginal in my opinion. If (and hopefully one day this will be reality) UW-Milwaukee becomes Wisconsin State University, a whole new identity would be created, because, let's face it, UWM doesn't have the most successful D1 collegiate career behind it. This coming from a Wisconsin native too. The colors should be left up to imagination, let the black and yellow/gold go, its been repeated too many times. We aren't Pittsburgh.

Bavaria comes to mind with the Southern German heritage so blue and white, simple (and prevelant) yet sophisticated and not annoying like black and yellow.

Someday there will be a Wisco State, too bad UW will still dominate the cheese state.

GO Badgers!

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twi: I could be wrong, but hasn't Navy always used a more metallic gold that's closer to what UCLA and Purdue use?

DrBear: Does Lakeland College have some kind of exclusive rights to the Muskies name that I'm not aware of?

MBurmy: Don't get me started... :rolleyes:

I agree that Muskies isn't appropriate for Milwaukee, the area is too urban for such a mascot, and on a logistical stand point it fits but most Wisconsinites (and non-Wisco's) would agree that its not a very exciting mascot. The color scheme I understand is concurrent with today's panther's colors but too unoriginal in my opinion. If (and hopefully one day this will be reality) UW-Milwaukee becomes Wisconsin State University, a whole new identity would be created, because, let's face it, UWM doesn't have the most successful D1 collegiate career behind it. This coming from a Madison homer too. The colors should be left up to imagination, let the black and yellow/gold go, its been repeated too many times. We aren't Pittsburgh.

Bavaria comes to mind with the Southern German heritage so blue and white, simple (and prevelant) yet sophisticated and not annoying like black and yellow.

Someday there will be a Wisco State, too bad UW will still dominate the cheese state due to the politics UW-Madison has played since the UW and WSU systems merged.

GO Badgers!

Fixed it for ya :D

As far as the identity, I could see where you're coming from if the school was being renamed "University of Milwaukee," but the whole point of changing the name to Wisconsin State University would be to establish it as "Wisconsin's school" (since it, and not Madison, now has the most Wisconsin natives despite being significantly smaller). Adopting the Muskies name wouldn't be to say "hey... fishing is a popular activity in Milwaukee" (because you're right, it's not), but rather "hey... our campus is less than a mile away from Lake Michigan and we want to be the biggest fish in our pond the way Muskies are in theirs." Using the official state fish also helps establish UWM/WSU as a school that draws students from all over Wisconsin instead of simply Milwaukee's version of a cookie-cutter UW school.

Besides, Longhorns isn't the most "urban" name either, but Austin is pretty similar to Milwaukee in size and culture.

Anyway, here's the requested muskie helmets, although to me, the ones with just the fish look more AFL than collegiate. Credit for the muskie goes to Sterling84 (he originally created it for another fantasy team of mine from when I first came to the boards).

wsu_muskies_helmet_v3.png

wsu_muskies_helmet_v4.png

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so this idea might sound ridiculous, and that's because it is. I like when teams use their mascot on the helmets and not just the letters, and i also enjoy things that are ridiculous, thats just how i roll. But i digress.

I saw the Muskie logo you have, and immediately i thought about wrapping a muskie around the helmet, tail on one side, wrap around the back of the helmet, finishing with the head on the opposite side. The way this crazy picture is in my head is the tail just partway onto one side, and the other end of the muskie in a similar position to the Seattle Seahawks logo.

Take it for what its worth.

ps. I'm all for UW-Milwaukee changing to WSU, or something along those lines. I got to UW-Madison, and after a summer of telling people where i'm going i think it would just be easier.

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I tried what you said and it just didn't come across in practice how I (and probably you) imagined it. But I did get far enough to see what it would look like and it's definitely something that would look good on an AFL team, but not college football.

As far as the name confusion... my ex-girlfriend grew up in Virginia and it took YEARS of her living in Wisconsin before she finally understood the difference between UW and UWM (since to her UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee are both "UW-M"). Now she goes to med school in Iowa and complains every time we talk about having to correct the people who say "Go Badgers" when she tells them she finished her undergrad at the "University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee." People make a natural assumption that a state's flagship school is gonna be in its biggest city.

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twi: I could be wrong, but hasn't Navy always used a more metallic gold that's closer to what UCLA and Purdue use?

DrBear: Does Lakeland College have some kind of exclusive rights to the Muskies name that I'm not aware of?

MBurmy: Don't get me started... :rolleyes:

I agree that Muskies isn't appropriate for Milwaukee, the area is too urban for such a mascot, and on a logistical stand point it fits but most Wisconsinites (and non-Wisco's) would agree that its not a very exciting mascot. The color scheme I understand is concurrent with today's panther's colors but too unoriginal in my opinion. If (and hopefully one day this will be reality) UW-Milwaukee becomes Wisconsin State University, a whole new identity would be created, because, let's face it, UWM doesn't have the most successful D1 collegiate career behind it. This coming from a Madison homer too. The colors should be left up to imagination, let the black and yellow/gold go, its been repeated too many times. We aren't Pittsburgh.

Bavaria comes to mind with the Southern German heritage so blue and white, simple (and prevelant) yet sophisticated and not annoying like black and yellow.

Someday there will be a Wisco State, too bad UW will still dominate the cheese state due to the politics UW-Madison has played since the UW and WSU systems merged.

GO Badgers!

Fixed it for ya :D

As far as the identity, I could see where you're coming from if the school was being renamed "University of Milwaukee," but the whole point of changing the name to Wisconsin State University would be to establish it as one of"Wisconsin's schools" (since it, and not Madison, now has the most Wisconsin natives despite being significantly smaller). Adopting the Muskies name wouldn't be to say "hey... fishing is a popular activity in Milwaukee" (because you're right, it's not), but rather "hey... our campus is less than a mile away from Lake Michigan and we want to be the biggest fish in our pond the way Muskies are in theirs." Using the official state fish also helps establish UWM/WSU as a school that draws students from all over Wisconsin instead of simply Milwaukee's version of a cookie-cutter UW school.

I wish I could control the influx of FIBS, Mud-ducks, and coasties....but sadly that isn't possible. :cursing:

If Milwaukee indeed wants to be a major national university, it will have to attract those from outside our borders as well, regardless of its "State" title.

And a new mascot, colors, and basketball team (considering they aren't even the best college team in Milwaukee ^_^ )

Still though, Muskie is not a solid mascot for a major school. It's better for Northern Wisconsin and Minnesotan high schools. I like the idea of keeping it state related (Badgers, Packers, Brewers, Bucks style, but the Wisconsin State University Muskellunge...ehh just not there)

How about WSU Fightin' Milk Drinking-Cheese Making-Wood Violet Growing-American Water Spaniel Owning-White-tailed Deer Hunting-Muskie Fishing-Polka Dancers?

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I wish I could control the influx of FIBS, Mud-ducks, and coasties....but sadly that isn't possible. :cursing:

Nice... :rolleyes:

If Milwaukee indeed wants to be a major national university, it will have to attract those from outside our borders as well, regardless of its "State" title.

And a new mascot, colors, and basketball team (considering they aren't even the best college team in Milwaukee ^_^ )

They've been in division 1 for less than 20 years compared to Marquette and Madison which have always had major athletic programs. All things considered, I think they've done pretty well for themselves.

Still though, Muskie is not a solid mascot for a major school. It's better for Northern Wisconsin and Minnesotan high schools. I like the idea of keeping it state related (Badgers, Packers, Brewers, Bucks style, but the Wisconsin State University Muskellunge...ehh just not there)

How about WSU Fightin' Milk Drinking-Cheese Making-Wood Violet Growing-American Water Spaniel Owning-White-tailed Deer Hunting-Muskie Fishing-Polka Dancers?

So you're arguing that "Muskies" is too northwoodsy for a Milwaukee-based team (despite its location on the Great Lakes), yet you see no problem with Bucks when Milwaukee is the one of the few places in the state that DOESN'T shut down during deer hunting season? And what makes Muskies that much different from Buckeyes, Boilermakers, Longhorns, Gamecocks, Tar Heels or any of the other quirky, locally-oriented names in major college sports?

Now... if you have a name in mind that can represent Milwaukee by itself while also standing for Wisconsin as a whole that somehow manages not to be too Wisconsin-ish for non-Sconnies, I'd love to hear it :P

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So you're arguing that "Muskies" is too northwoodsy for a Milwaukee-based team (despite its location on the Great Lakes), yet you see no problem with Bucks when Milwaukee is the one of the few places in the state that DOESN'T shut down during deer hunting season? And what makes Muskies that much different from Buckeyes, Boilermakers, Longhorns, Gamecocks, Tar Heels or any of the other quirky, locally-oriented names in major college sports?

Now... if you have a name in mind that can represent Milwaukee by itself while also standing for Wisconsin as a whole that somehow manages not to be too Wisconsin-ish for non-Sconnies, I'd love to hear it :P

Sorry, I wasn't trying to say that the Bucks fit in Milwaukee, but that it fits with the Wisconsin-theme.

I dunno where I'm going with this, maybe I would like it more if it wasn't black and gold.

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As someone who grew up in Milwaukee's back yard, I'm think Muskies is too country. I'm also more for U of Milwaukee over Wisconsin State because WSU sounds like you are trying to hide the Milwaukee identity. WSU would be much better for a school like Whitewater, a school that nobody outside the state has a clue where it is. I think you could take more liberty with the color scheme as well to separate Milwaukee from UW Oshkosh. The execution is well done, but I think Muskies works better for a northern Wisconsin school, as opposed to a school in a large city like Milwaukee.

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As someone who grew up in Milwaukee's back yard, I'm think Muskies is too country. I'm also more for U of Milwaukee over Wisconsin State because WSU sounds like you are trying to hide the Milwaukee identity. WSU would be much better for a school like Whitewater, a school that nobody outside the state has a clue where it is. I think you could take more liberty with the color scheme as well to separate Milwaukee from UW Oshkosh. The execution is well done, but I think Muskies works better for a northern Wisconsin school, as opposed to a school in a large city like Milwaukee.

In real life, I'm pro-U of Mil for that reason. In fact, I actually did a rebranding concept for all the UW schools awhile back and ended up giving WSU to La Crosse. As far as the colors...I believe UW-Superior uses black and yellow as well. But I kept them because Madison uses red, Marquette uses blue, Green Bay uses green and I couldn't get with the idea of using purple, orange or brown (even though the latter is one of my favorite colors).

I appreciate the kind words about the excecution. But part of the reason I went the WSU Muskies route is that I couldn't think of a unique, locally relevant nickname for a school called the University of Milwaukee. The only idea I was even able to tease was "Green Gulls," which was the nickname when it first opened up (as Milwaukee Normal School).

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