The Mount Olive Trojans are the athletic teams representing the University of Mount Olive, a private NCAA Division II institution in Mount Olive, North Carolina. The Trojans compete in Conference Carolinas across 18 varsity sports, and the athletics program’s official colors are green and white.[1]
Design and History
The current athletics logo was unveiled on March 19, 2014, at a celebration event on campus. The new mark coincided with the institution’s recent name change from Mount Olive College to the University of Mount Olive, which took effect in January of that year.[2]
The previous version of the athletics logo had been created in 2006 by Jordan Sain with Hoke Signs & Graphic Designs, a firm based in Lincolnton, North Carolina. Because that earlier design was well received, the university returned to the same designer to update the logo with the new university name.[2][3]
According to Athletics Director Jeff Eisen, the university asked the designer to keep the Trojan helmet as the main brand element but to fine tune the look. The updated logo retained the green, white and black colors of the earlier version.[2] Students at the unveiling noted that the new mark was an evolution of the earlier design, still recognizable as Mount Olive while presenting a sleeker appearance.[3]
Institutional logo work for the 2014 rebrand was handled separately by TWG Plus, a marketing agency based in Matthews, North Carolina, which created the new university seal and institutional mark.[3]
Meaning and Symbolism
The Trojan helmet has served as the central brand element for Mount Olive athletics, and the university explicitly asked the designer to retain it during the 2014 update.[2] The helmet references the Trojan warrior archetype that gives the athletic teams their nickname.
The institutional logo unveiled alongside the athletics mark carries different symbolism. It uses a green shield that retains Mount Olive College’s symbols of the cross and the lamp, which had appeared in the previous institutional logo approved by the Board of Trustees in 1992. According to university officials, the lamp of learning symbolizes the institution’s purpose of facilitating learning, while the cross symbolizes the university’s Christian faith.[2][3]
Typography and Design
The 2014 institutional logo is a three-color design using green, gold and gray. Its typography changed from Times New Roman to Goudy Book Letter and Garamond, a shift university officials said gave movement to the logo and showcased the institution as active, fluid and ever-changing.[2]
The university maintains a Graphic Standards Guide that provides standards for use of the university logo, seal, the Trojan logo, UMO logotype, official colors, typefaces and correspondence materials.[4] The athletics department also makes official logo files available for download through its media relations office, with sport-specific versions for each men’s and women’s team.[5]
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