Today I saw a new group on Facebook called “Just Say No,” a group protesting the imminent release of the new Michigan State Spartan logo. In less than a week, the fan base has grown to over 39,000 disgruntled students and alumni, and growing. MSU had filed a trademark application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark and news spread quickly in the blogosphere and social network. This prompted the announcement that: “The classic Spartan gladiator helmet will get a makeover this spring, and the school will make an official announcement in April” according to Heather Swain, Assistant Vice President for University Relations.

All of this caught my attention because I am a graduate of MSU and am familiar with the Spartan brand. While I was in school, MSU had gone through a similar change in identity and iconogaphy without any fuss. I can’t help but wonder if this protest is because people truly dislike the logo or if the social networking bandwagon is at it again. Let us not forget that MSU is the 8th largest public university in the nation with an enrollment of 47,000. With that many people and the endless number of alumni and sports fans, it doesn’t take much to get people riled up. Does anyone remember what happen when MSU lost to Duke in the Final Four in 1999? Hello riot. Maybe this logo backlash is just another example of the mob mentality taking over just a bit.

This is not to say that standing up to bad design is not necessary… Look at what happened to Tropicana and IKEA. But when looking at the Spartan refresh my overall thought is that it could have been significantly worse. The changes are pretty subtle. The new icon is little bit more chunky but tougher and more warrior-like. You’d think sports fans would be pleased. As far as university sports logos go, this icon is pretty refined. It is without the usual bevel and emboss, heavy drop shadow, and thick outline.

According to a memo: “This logo is just a single element of a new comprehensive brand and graphic identity project undertaken by the Department of Athletics. They will be unveiling all elements of the new program in April. The new logo, and the other elements in the program, are the result of a two-year collaboration between MSU Athletics and a team of top designers from Nike.”

I predict that this will reach a fever pitch shortly and the new logo will still be quietly released as planned in April. I think that if people were to get behind something it should be about more fundamental things, like the rising cost of education at public universities, the overall quality of education, and allocation of school funds to diverse student endeavors. For example, maybe if more money was allocated to their art school, they would not need “top designers from Nike” and would instead use their internal resources and student talent and/or alumni for their creative and marketing endeavors.