Because of the volume of feedback regarding the new secondary Panther-head logo released by… Because of the volume of feedback regarding the new secondary Panther-head logo released by the Pitt athletics department in mid-June, The Pitt News talked with Chris Ferris, Pitt’s assistant athletics director of marketing and promotions, to discuss how such a decision is made and if student and community feedback can affect future changes.

The Pitt News: When did you get an indication that there needed to be a secondary logo change?

Chris Ferris: I think it starts back really when [Pitt Athletics Director Jeff Long] first came to Pitt in 2005 when we introduced the block Pitt logo. I think Jeff has really maintained that that really is our primary identity, and as a result of that, we introduced the block Pitt, and I think it’s been pretty well received. I don’t think we’ve really wavered in the fact that that’s our primary identity, and that’s the logo that’s going to continue to be featured on our uniforms, and I don’t mean just football, all of our sport teams. Then there came the question, “Well, do we introduce a new logo?” We didn’t want to do that because we felt we might send a mixed message in terms of “Are we leaving the block Pitt?” No. We really just tried to update the Panther head, make it a little more modern, a little more recognizable, sleeker, and that’s really the process.

TPN: You mentioned sending a mixed message. Do you think some of the signals were crossed when the logo was introduced to produce some of the negative feedback?

CF: I think this is a sign of how great our fans are. We’ve got great passionate fans that extend from our students to our alumni to our supporters to our faculty and staff, and I think our fans reaching out to our athletics department, whether to express positive feedback or to express an opinion like “Hey, I prefer something else.” To me, that’s terrific. That shows how strong our Panther faithful are. Is feedback a bad thing? Of course not. Every single fan that has contacted me, if they have left me a name or any means, I have responded to them, and I have said, “Let’s talk.” I’ve had some great meetings face to face, a couple students have actually come and met with me. I’ve talked with a number of people on the phone. I’ve had many e-mail conversations, and many of those conversations have been very positive as well.

TPN: There has been a lot of negative feedback with regards to the new logo. Has that been the overall trend in the responses you’ve been getting?

CF: I wouldn’t call anything negativity. I would call it our great fans expressing their opinion about our program. Even though there are some people out there who prefer a different mark, they have got great ideas and great passion. So the expression of a differentiating mark is great passion for our program, and that is positive. A lot of people have said, “Why didn’t you do this