Back in June we showed you the new UNLV logo. The school hired Adrenalin, Inc. and reportedly ponied up $60,000 to come up with this "refreshed" look for the 2017-2018 athletic season.
@UNLVathletics @unlv Rebels launch logo refresh – Adrenalin was honored to lead the process! #unlv #rebels #logodesign #logolaunch #heyreb pic.twitter.com/VtWl48TpHN
— Adrenalin Inc (@adrenalin_inc) June 28, 2017
Social media responded, and the initial results were anything but stellar.
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About a week ago, UNLV announced the football team would wear throwback Randall Cunningham helmets for their season opener against Howard. Initially, it seemed like a pretty cool way to honor the program's legendary quarterback.
On second thought, however, why would the Runnin' Rebels be wearing a throwback helmet in the season opener? If the school spent so much money to refresh its logo, the home opener is the ideal place to showcase the new artwork. It's a chance to excite fans and move thousands of dollars of new merchandise.
I went over to Fanatics, one of the biggest online college merchandise retailers, to see if gear featuring the new logo was available. To my astonishment, despite the $60,000 and big press conference announcing the new version of Hey' Reb!, I could track down only one new t-shirt.
Surely the UNLV athletic department must be promoting the new silhouette version of its mustached cheerleader.
Perhaps not. Here is the header on their website.
Perhaps even more astounding is the banner ad to purchase UNLV gear.
You literally can't purchase UNLV products with the new logo just days before the season opener.
To be fair, this isn't a bashing of the athletic department in any way. Perhaps it heard the outcry on social media and realized fans and alums just weren't digging the refreshed look. Not only is that a good thing, but also it wouldn't be the first time a new logo fell so flat that an organization decided to stick with what was working.
Just ask the San Francisco 49ers how this helmet worked out back in February of 1991.
Update: Since publishing this article, an emailer sent me the following photo from the quad. I was told this is about the only place the new logo seems to be in public view on campus right now.
