RALEIGH—A college in New York is changing its mascot name after pressure from N.C. State University.
Keuka College changed their nickname from the “Storm” to “Wolfpack” after the small liberal arts school was hit with flooding a couple of years ago, which caught the attention of NC State officials.
"They made very clear they were intending to take this to the courts. And we offered a compromise. Can we use pack of wolves? And they said no, you cannot use the word pack in any way, shape, or form,” said Dr. Jorge L. Diaz-Herrera, Keuka College President.
NC State University Director of University Relations Fred Hartman said in a statement that royalties from licensed sales of trademark merchandise generated $800,000 dollars for student scholarships just this year.
"For this and several other reasons, like many universities, NC State works to preserve the value of its trademarks, avoid consumer misinformation, and protect trademarks from possible infringement,” he said.
Keuka College officials say they agreed to change the nickname to “Wolves” at the end of this school year to avoid a lawsuit.
"Instead of spending tuition dollars on this legal battle, we focus on education,” said Dr. Diaz-Herrera.
Even though the name will be different, Keuka College officials say the mascot, logo and colors are expected to stay the same.
Statement from NC State Director of University Relations, Fred Hartman:
“NC State's use of Wolfpack (one word) dates back to 1921, and the university has maintained a federal registration for the mark since 1983. A basic trademark search shows that NC State is the only university that uses the unique mark, Wolfpack, for its collegiate athletic teams.
The issue is not one of confusing the two schools, their colors or their divisions, but rather an issue of confusing the Wolfpack name for collegiate sports teams that are members of the National Collegiate Athletics Association. Keuka plays sports as far south as Florida, and NC State plays across the country, including markets close to Keuka college. Both institutions have NCAA teams and club sports teams that compete in the same sports. Neither institution has total control over how others might display or refer to their athletic name, including uses by local or national media and even various merchandise vendors.
Our university brand and its trademarks bring a lot of value to NC State and our students. In fact, royalties from licensed sales of trademark merchandise generated $800,000 for student scholarships just this year. For this and several other reasons, like many universities, NC State works to preserve the value of its trademarks, avoid consumer misinformation, and protect trademarks from possible infringement.
When we learned about the new use of Wolfpack by Keuka College, NC State staff contacted the college in early 2015 to explain the situation and ask that they stop using the trademark.”