What happens when a 125-year-old university discovers it has 200 logos — and then has to fix it?

That's exactly the situation Barth Hague walked into as Chief Marketing Officer at Wichita State University. What started as a quiet observation — why does the logo on the basketball court look nothing like the one on a diploma? — turned into one of the most consequential rebranding projects in the university's history. We talk through the politics, the pushback, the stakeholder meetings, and ultimately a logo that ended up on national television during a Final Four run worth over a billion dollars in free advertising.

Highlights

• Wichita State had two primary logos and over 200 variations — each college and department had developed its own mark over 125 years
• The tipping point: Barth noticed the athletics WSU logo on the Koch Arena floor didn't match the university's academic logo — and a VP's warning look only made him more determined to change it
• The Shockers' rising success on CBS Sports and ESPN made the brand inconsistency an expensive missed opportunity
• President Don Beggs provided crucial top-down support, understanding both the marketing opportunity and the need to unify a fragmented campus identity
• Three universal objections to rebranding: (1) you're taking something precious from me, (2) you're making me change my letterhead margins, and (3) what does this even mean?
• Dean Fox from the College of Health delivered an emotional argument for keeping the wheat — rooted in the story of immigrant settlers, Fairmount College's history, and Kansas identity
• The new logo went on to be seen nationally during the Shockers' Final Four appearance, delivering advertising value the university could never have afforded otherwise
• Barth's core marketing principle: even a poor logo design can succeed with consistent application — but the best design will fail without it

Chapters

0:00 — Logo Hoard Problem

0:58 — Meet Barth Haeg

1:56 — Why Rebrand Again

3:31 — Two Logos Become 200

4:16 — Athletics Exposure Opportunity

4:43 — Aligning Academic and Sports Marks

6:18 — Leadership Buy-In

7:48 — Stakeholder Meetings Reality Check

8:23 — Three Common Objections

10:06 — Keep the Wheat Story

11:26 — Listening Into a Solution

11:49 — Rollout and Lasting Consistency

13:30 — Consistency Beats Great Design

14:08 — Closing Thanks

Resources

• Wichita State University

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This podcast is part of the ICT Podcast Network. For more information, visit ictpod.net.