"Something new is preparing to soar." That's the teaser you'll be seeing soon on flyers around campus, and it's referring to the new Athletics logos scheduled to be unveiled at the first home football game Aug. 31.

The new family of logos, which feature the first officially licensed mascot art, will be used by Athletics and related programs only. The university's official logo remains the interlocking T-T-U for use by all other departments and programs.

"This is an exciting venture for us," says Athletics Director Mark Wilson. "This new family of logos for Athletics will reinforce the quality image of the university and build a strong brand identity for our Athletics program.

"TTU was one of the few Division I institutions in the country that did not have unique athletics marks or even an official representation of the mascot. We believe these new marks will represent us well."

The family of logos was developed by an ad-hoc committee working with Rickabaugh Graphics, a national graphics firm specializing in sports logos for collegiate and professional teams. The committee was comprised of representatives from several administrative units, faculty and students. Once the design was narrowed to three options, focus groups of students, alumni, faculty and staff were asked to pick their favorite design.

All groups voted overwhelmingly in favor of the final selected design.

“The first fall football game was the ideal time to unveil the new look,” Wilson says. Coincidentally, that Thursday date is also the first day of fall semester classes, and it falls right in the middle of TTU Pride Days.

"We're happy to be able to reveal the logos first with our TTU family of students, faculty and staff," Wilson says. "While these new marks won't replace the existing university logo, they will offer an enhanced branding opportunity for our athletic teams. Particularly when we're traveling around the country, we want everyone to see our logos and know we're the Tennessee Tech University Golden Eagles.”

The university's interlocking T-T-U logo, which continues to be the university's official logo.

Products featuring the new logos will be available to the public through the TTU Bookstore at the Aug. 31 football game and afterward at other local merchants.

Logo usage and style guidelines are available online in the university's Publicity and Visual Identity Handbook. It will be updated to reflect the guidelines for the new logos after Aug. 31.