SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio –Several exciting new building projects have been underway on the campus of Notre Dame College since the spring. On Wednesday, NDC Athletics got in on the act with what was the foundation in building a new Falcon Athletics brand. 

In conjunction with Notre Dame Basketball's annual “Moonlight Madness” tip-off event, NDC unveiled a new athletic logo Wednesday night. The new logo and collection of related marks include a new falcon image, block lettering, and a blue and gold “NDC Stripe” pattern (See PDF). The new look is part of an overall branding initiative to better define the College's image and message.

“This is a distinctive new look, and we're excited about it,” said Notre Dame Director of Athletics Sue Hlavacek. “All the elements of our new brand were carefully constructed to present a more old-school collegiate look and remain faithful to the traditions and original intent of the College and its athletic heritage.”

Although Notre Dame sponsored intercollegiate athletic teams as early as 1970, the “Falcons” moniker did not appear until 1988, when it was chosen via a campus vote. Upon the selection of that name, the students and NDC Department of Athletics referred to the falcon being chosen because it was a “fast, agile, strong, and aggressive” representation of NDC sports.

The design work on the elements of the new NDC Athletics brand was done by Westlake-based Division Street Design. A number of initial design concepts were further developed, with various elements of the College (students, administration, faculty, and coaches) consulted in various stages of the project.

“(Division Street President) Jim O'Connor and Division Street have done an outstanding job in graphically conveying the intent of the Falcon name,” said Hlavacek. “They've also met our goals for how these marks should portray Falcon Athletics.”

The new Falcon image is a caricature of a charging falcon in collegiate attire. Lettering for associated wordmarks is in a block, collegiate type, and several marks include the use of blue, white, and gold stripes as the NDC Stripe pattern. The spirit colors in the new set of logos are defined as blue and white, with gold accents. The blue and gold colors utilized are slightly darker and richer hues than were used on the previous athletic logo.

In addition to the new primary logo, an alternate script-Falcon logo was also unveiled Wednesday. The alternate logo featured the word “Falcon” in blue script under which a blue banner presents “Athletics.” That same look will also be available as a separate mark for each NDC sports team (example – Falcon Basketball, Falcon Wrestling, Falcon Softball, etc.)

The logo replaces the old falcon-“F” logo, which has now been discontinued. It was the third logo to be used to represent NDC Athletics since the College reinstated athletic teams after an eight-year hiatus (1980-87).

The new Falcon Athletics logo was displayed at Notre Dame's Moonlight Madness Wednesday and was imprinted on several giveaway items. New-logo merchandise will be available at an on-campus store later this fall, and the new marks and colors will be utilized in a new Notre Dame Athletics website, also being developed for a release this fall.

For more information, contact sports information director Skip Snow at 216-373-5319 or ssnow@ndc.edu.

Notre Dame College is a co-educational liberal arts institution in South Euclid, Ohio. The Notre Dame Athletics Department sponsors the Falcons' participation in 17 men's and women's sports. The College is affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the American Mideast Conference (AMC), which is the largest NAIA conference in the country.