SU Club Sports Logo Dispute Finally Ends

By John Perik

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The week-long dispute between SU club sports and SU’s trademark licensing office is over, at least for now. Last night Syracuse University announced that club teams can now use the “Block S” logo on social media. 

“Based on feedback we have received from student groups in recent days, we have made the decision to allow our sport clubs to use our marks,” a University spokesperson said in an official statement last night. “We will do everything we can to ensure they can represent our university proudly during competition.” 

This decision came only a few hours after the University asked club sports teams to remove the “Block S” logo from social media sites. “This is just a reminder, you cannot have the Block S or Otto as your logo for your social media sites,” The Barnes Center at the Arch said in an email to club sports teams. “If you currently do, you must take it down.” 

With the rule now reversed, many club sports teams are shocked by the change. “We were just shocked,” said Mackenzie Murphy, president of SU club hockey. “We were kind of ready for a long-haul battle.” 

The club baseball team had the same reaction. “I was honestly shocked,” said Connor Burke, president of SU club baseball. “I was proud of how the University handled themselves; I was proud of the community, every one of Twitter. The outpour of support we received was something I could have never imagined.” 

The SU club hockey team is still not satisfied with the current trademark guidelines even after the change. Murphy said that this change is an improvement for club sports, but it is not the end goal. “We took five steps back, and now we have taken three steps forward,” Murphy said. “We still want to be recognized on campus, and I think the Block S is a huge part of that.” 

Even though club sports are now permitted to use the “Block S” logo on social media, teams remain prohibited from using it on apparel. The University is refraining from answering why this is the case, but SU alumnus Jack Reiner says he believes it’s due to financial reasons. 

“They want to control the profits,” Reiner said. “If you have the club baseball team selling merchandise with the Syracuse logo to fans or students of the club team, I don’t know if there is a way that the University can profit from that.”