Messages

Oops "uhlans". "Bruce" will never forgive me 

Also, the College of Engineering used to have its own mascot. I found a plywood cutout of him shoved in a closet one year.

I think his name was"HerbertHarold". He was a very nerdy and goofy crusader with electrical bolts in his hands, a t-square as a sword, and a shield with gears in it. I believe this was to capture the core engineering disciplines of electrical, civil, and mechanical, respectively.

I wish I had an image of him. Anyone remember him or have an image of him? I thought he was great.

Did a little digging for fun on this topic over the weekend and it is probably a bit too much of a pipedream.

Fun idea but likely not a realistic scenario.

Perhaps "voting with the wallet" and only purchasing items with the good logos developed prior to the rebrand is the best way to go.

Also I really like that Valpo explicitly states: "Revenues collected on licensed merchandise support the University's scholarship program." At least the good logos can directly support the students.  Went into this post grouchy and belligerent, coming out grouchy with begrudging respect.

Always fun to dream about "sticking it to the man", though. 

Mercer University's Hawkins Arena Floor plan. The ARC could adopt a similar lower horshoe bowl  with small sky boxes behind the existing chairback sections.

https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-sprint-us-revc&q=Hawkins+Arena&stick=H4sIAAAAAAAAAONgVuLUz9U3sMwxNDN5xGjCLfDyxz1hKe1Ja05eY1Tl4grOyC93zSvJLKkUEudig7J4pbi5ELp4FrHyeiSWZ2fmFSs4FqXmJQIAQfGzFlQAAAA&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjyv82C-ub9AhXjj4kEHTeLCC4Q0pQJegQICRAB&biw=384&bih=724&dpr=2.81#imgrc=Zwf2mosaRXBe9M

I have the same opinion as #62.

I believe the ARC is salvageable. It needs a lot of work, but I believe the work required to make it acceptable for the MVC and for the Universitys needs would be more cost effective than a new facility.

I think a horshoe bowl of collapsible chair backs on the main floor would be great. I would actually leave the student section as is (it was more fun to stand anyways during the games). I think a small riser section or collapsible stage for the pepband at the corner entrance would also be nice. The same collapsible chair backs for the upper searing would be great as well.

Lights and audio need to be updated. However the scoreboard looks pretty nice.

I would add that the wall behind the existing chairbacks could be opened up to bring in some natural light. I think small boxes could also be installed behind the existing chair backs for handicapped accessibility as well as for local businesses / events.

See Mercer's basketball stadium for a great example of how good this could look.

https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-sprint-us-revc&q=Hawkins+Arena&stick=H4sIAAAAAAAAAONgVuLUz9U3sMwxNDN5xGjCLfDyxz1hKe1Ja05eY1Tl4grOyC93zSvJLKkUEudig7J4pbi5ELp4FrHyeiSWZ2fmFSs4FqXmJQIAQfGzFlQAAAA&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjyv82C-ub9AhXjj4kEHTeLCC4Q0pQJegQICRAB&biw=384&bih=724&dpr=2.81#imgrc=RCF_D7xXlkUQPM&lnspr=W10=

I feel that this is more affordable than a new facility and would meet our needs.

If anyone has the artist Bryan Flynn's contact information could you please send it to me in a DM?

I do not have twitter so cannot reach out that way.

Also curious about Valpo community interest in nostalgia shirts / sweaters.

This includes 2010s Crusader (depending on how long this is trademarked)

1990s Crusader (same issue)

And the Uhlongs.

A "fallen mascots" shirt. If the use of those images fall under parody they can be more protected from trademark laws. Would probably need a Valpo Law grad to go to bat for that though.

https://www.valpo.edu/marcom/trademark-licensing/

To further demonstrate the incompetence of Valpos Marketing and Communications department they still only list "Valparaiso Crusaders" and the "Crusaders Mascot" as legally protected trademarks. What a joke.

Clean house.

I think unofficial merch saying Valparaiso or Valpo would be fine as city names are in the public domain.

Does anyone know if putting the lantern that mimics the chapel would fall under the trademark protections? Its not on any logos (directly) although the Powerpoint lighthouse has a "crown" on top of it. That might cause some trademark issues as the lighthouse logo is included on some shirts. However, one could probably argue that the trademarked image of the lighthouse is sufficiently different from a lantern.

Also, the dunehawk should be completely free of trademark issues.

Thoughts?

I had ooked at the bookstore / merch sites in the past and found a lot of nice stuff, but only with the shield of character logo. These I am happy to buy because they look great.

The alternative logos though just depress me. Last time I was physically in the bookstore I saw a bunch of lighthouse and lantern shirts. Sounds like those are being phased out. If they are, perhaps now is a good chance to generate excitement around better logos before the marketing department ruins the next attempt?

I am curious if enough fan / community / student support can be generated for the better logos and mascots. They removed the Crusaders head during my sophomore year because it looked so bad. Perhaps the dogs, PowerPoint lantern, and lighthouse can all be sent to the pound?

What options are there for producing unofficial Valpo gear with logos that are actually professional?

I have had enough with the Microsoft Powerpoint lantern, Microsoft Powerpoint lighthouse (w/ no connection to the university / region), and horrible dog mascots.

The only official Valpo gear I would ever entertain is with a "Shield of Character", because that was when we had competent artists and messaging. I am fine with the Beacons name change. That is not the issue for me. My concern is the art, messaging, and marketing associated with that name. Any name could be sold with the right art and branding.

I am legitimately curious what can we do to support the artists who have demonstrated much more skill, respect, and an understanding of the promise of Valparaiso University? I really would want t-shirts, hoodies, etc. with the cursive Valpo Scripting, the Chapel, and the Dunehawk carrying a lantern. As long as the merchandise does not say Valparaiso University anywhere it could work, right? We of course would need to get the blessings of the artist and provide sufficient funds for them (I forget their name but their logo is used on this message board). I could imagine people wearing this gear around at games or in the community. With a QR code on the shirt linking to a shop for the artist I believe we could generate sufficient grassroots support for this.

Note: The Dunehawk carrying a lantern would have been a perfect mascot for Valpo. Beaky the beacon. Clean and elegant.

Any Valpo Law grads care to weigh in?

As a fan of The West Wing, Paul's themed tweeting was the most fun I had following a Valpo game in years.

Those were actually quite fun.

Agreed. The performance of this season o date is the final straw. I disliked the hire from the start. Did not trust his experience.

Hope he grows into a solid coach. Just don't see it happening here.

Does Valpo have a rival anymore?

When I was at Valpo we had Butler and then Detroit.

My personal rival was Milwaukee because I loved taking the student bus to Milwaukee and outcheering the Panther fans every year.

None of these teams would I consider rivalries anymore.

So, for the new brand of Beacon basketball, who are our rivals?

Nothing like another long Valpo scoring drought...

If we were in the NBA I would swear we were jockeying for a better draft lottery pick.

Cannot really fathom how we are this bad. Or how bad Western Michigan must be.

Lottich needs to teach the players how to box out under the basket.

Maybe we can send Lottich to the kiddie summer Valpo camps to learn some basics?

We need to go back to the hilariously baggy basketball shorts up to 2015. Those must have had some magic in them.

The only good thing I have seen from teams in the Lottich era are the uniforms. I am a fan of these.

Predictions?

Attendance over under: 1200

Student section over under: 20

Even if Valpo plays out of their minds I am very pessimistic about a second half rally. Last major rally I remember was at Detroit  (2013 - 2014?) led by Capobianco.

This needs to be it. This needs to be the loss that finally gets Lottich fired. He has little support amongst the fanbase, the community is mostly apathetic, and students do not care about the program. Where is the upside of keeping Lame-Duck Lottich around?

First game thread I have ever started.

This one is actually special to me because this will be the first Valpo game I have attended in person since I was a student at VU in 2014. Driving far from out of town and am looking forward to the opportunity to be back in the ARC for a game. Job / school has taken me far away from NWI but now I am close enough to make the journey.

Valpo looking to win this one to stay above 0.5 for its home win/loss record. Bottom of the MVC standings are getting awfully crowded. Avoiding Thursday may be possible...

See you at the game!

#LoserLottich

I would have Bobby Capobianco on sax.

Anyone want to workshop with #LoserLottich what a set play is?

The 'free flow', 'let the players play' style he employs is a rudderless ship. Teams need leaders.

If things keep going like this, won't be long before chants of "Fire Lottich" should come from the stands.


I still hope he makes me eat my words, but I have little to no faith in this 3rd tier YMCA coach.

#LoserLottich

Clean house and end this miserable stain on the program.