New look Wolverines

September 13, 2013

Call it a statement piece. The 40-foot banner draped across the Fieldhouse proclaims one clear message: We Are Wolverines.

The banner—which features nine University of Michigan-Dearborn athletes—is part of the Athletics Department’s new rebranding and awareness campaign, which kicked off earlier this month.

“Our athletes are strong; they’re competitors,” said Lindsay Waller, marketing specialist, who helped launch the campaign. “It’s an important message to send to both incoming opponents and to the campus community as a whole.”

Additional campaign elements include:

Light post banners featuring student-athletes in the Fieldhouse parking lot;
Student-athlete posters and team schedule posters to be posted around campus and surrounding the building;
Wolverine t-shirts and lanyard giveaways to students;
A rebranded website, athletics.umdearborn.edu.

Fall athletes

The refreshed branding follows the university’s nickname transition from Wolves to Wolverines. The university announced the change last spring as a way to enhance the student-athlete experience, provide the campus with stronger athletics programs and more closely align with U-M Ann Arbor’s programs.

Danielle Cowart, a UM-Dearborn basketball player, already sees the benefits of the new focus on athletics. “I love the new look to our athletics programs. It’s another step closer to helping our programs grow,” she said.

Basketball player Dustin Sielski agrees and hopes the enthusiasm spreads.

“We are hoping to change the entire culture here at UM-Dearborn and get students more excited about sports,” said Sielski. “The banners around campus are a great way to bring some much-needed attention to our programs.”

Giveaways will continue throughout the season at home athletics events. This week’s events include: