Fear the roar! Now, fear it more.
There’s a new Dalhousie Tiger in town, and it’s staring down its opponents with more attitude than ever.
The Tiger’s pal Rocky the Ram from Dal's Truro Campus has joined in the makeover fun, too.
Behold the refreshed Ram below, now with even sharper horns.
Dalhousie’s Department of Athletics & Recreation unleashed these bold new beasts this week following an extensive creative process led by The Northern Creative Agency.
The logos will serve as the new faces of Dalhousie’s Tigers and Rams varsity athletics teams in Halifax and Truro.
"Reflecting the dynamic nature of Dalhousie students and student-athletes by introducing a fiercer version of Tiger, we can proudly express a tagline such as ‘Fear the Roar,’ while keeping our tradition of ‘We are All Tigers,’" says Tim Maloney, Dal's director of Athletics & Recreation (A&R).
T-shirts with the new Tigers and Rams logos were being handed out at Dalplex Thursday (May 30), where Maloney was joined by A&R Associate Director Cindy Tye, Truro’s A&R Associate Director Andrew Harding, as well as other departmental staff and coaches at a launch event.
Event images by Matt Reeder, others from Dalhousie Archives.
The Tiger and Ram are well-known brands on campus and in the community, generating excitement among varsity sports fans and alumni alike. This revamp of the logos — and a collection of other affiliated brand marks — brings them into closer alignment with each other and with Dalhousie’s institutional brand, particularly with the adoption of the same colour pallet as the university.
“This brand evolution is significant for the department as the Tigers logo has not had a major refresh in decades, while the update to the Rams logo will align the two visually,” says Maloney. “This will provide consistency moving forward.”
Through the years
The new Tigers logo has clear roots in the past.
Take this mark found on the jerseys of the 1950-51 men’s basketball team and the logos on the badges following, which could be found in regular use between 1978-1984.
It's easy to see the 'fierce' quality, particularly in the baring of the Tiger's teeth.
The Dal Tiger most people know today first emerged around 1985-1986. Members of a men’s volleyball team from the 1980s, shown below left, pose in front of a large Tiger banner clad in jerseys bearing the same logo.
Athletics & Recreation tweaked the logo slightly over the years to clean up the Tiger’s features and adjust its colour, but the design has otherwise remained roughly similar for nearly 40 years.
The Ram’s history stretches way back, well before the Nova Scotia Agricultural College merged with Dalhousie in 2012 and became the Faculty of Agriculture.
Below, you can see the original Ram (far left) looking almost scholarly alongside the logo adopted after the merger (centre), and an alternate version designed about 10 years ago.
Dal maintains distinct logos for Halifax and Truro given each location hosts its own varsity teams.
One step at a time
With the new logos now in the wild, Dal’s athletics department begins the process of rolling them out across its various facilities, on varsity team gear, on its merchandise, and in its communications.
It’ll take the new Tiger and Ram a little while to assert dominance over their domain, as is the case with any re-branding effort.
Dal hosts nearly two dozen varsity teams, and while jerseys bearing the new logos will start being distributed this year, it’s expected to take up to three years to completely flip team wardrobes.
Until then, you may catch the occasional glimpse of the old Tiger or Ram logos around Dal campuses or on athletes and coaches during practices and games.
You’ll also continue to see the existing Tiger and Ram mascots (seen right) giving high fives and posing for selfies at varsity games and other campus events. Eventually, the costumes will also be updated to better reflect the new static logos.
A meaningful project
Ben Bennett, creative director with the agency working with Dal on the re-branding process, said the project felt personally meaningful to him.
"As a Dalhousie alumnus myself, it is my honour that our firm was chosen by Dalhousie Athletics to update the Tigers and Rams brands,” he says, noting his company has worked with franchises ranging from youth sport leagues to the NHL.
“The influence of sport and education on our youth and society is fundamental to our nation’s culture — and our company’s as well.”
Poster boards display new logos and affiliated branding.