Florida Gators tell Palm Beach Gardens, Glades Day to stop using their logos
By Matt Porter
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Updated: 10:27 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2010
Posted: 12:51 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2010
Palm Beach Gardens received a letter from the University of Florida this summer, and its purpose wasn't to congratulate them for cutting the ribbon on a new football stadium.
The high school has for decades used the colors, nickname and insignia of the Florida Gators. But UF no longer feels imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Through a licensing company, the school asked for removal of all Gators logos from Palm Beach Gardens' campus, including the gym floor, team uniforms and other school property.
"It's kind of frustrating," Palm Beach Gardens Athletic Director Bill Weed said. "Why are they waiting until now to do it?"
He wasn't alone in his frustration. Last year, Glades Day received the same letter from UF. Principal Robert Egley said the news hit hard at the Belle Glade school.
"Initially, everyone was really upset by it," Egley said. "Why now? Surely there are other battles they can fight."
As college teams take back their trademarks, high schools are put in a battle they can't win. Youth teams have always drawn inspiration from college and pro teams, but some of those teams - particularly colleges - are sending them back to the drawing board, asking that they stop using the logos.
"Legally, I understand it," said Egley, a 1979 UF graduate. "But do battle with other people who are making money off it. We don't make a dime. We're just proud to be Gators."
Collegiate Licensing Company, an Atlanta-based group that offers licensing protection services to UF and more than 200 other schools, recently asked several high schools to cease and desist from using college trademarks on team uniforms and school property.
"I sent a letter to CLC saying we've been using [the Gator head] for years, and we're not making any money, but it didn't matter," Egley said. "We might as well comply. We can't weather this storm."
Both Palm Beach Gardens and Glades Day say CLC has given them a gradual timetable for removal.
UF has trademarked its Gator head logo and the "Gators" script displayed on helmets.
Palm Beach Gardens and Glades Day copy the Gator head in logos while Gardens uses the "Gators" exact word mark on their helmets. Glades Day had the same script on their helmets but phased them out this year and now have "Gators" in a different script. Colors are not an issue since Gardens' colors are the same as UF (blue and orange) while Glades Day's colors are green and yellow.
Similarly, the Santaluces High Chiefs and Jupiter High Warriors use the Florida State Seminoles' spear on their helmets, but that time may be coming to an end. "They haven't said anything about it. You're probably jinxing us," Jupiter AD Mike DeLeonardo said, laughing.
Florida State cracked down on a school in Bradenton that was using the Seminole spear and Seminole head design for its schools. The school, Southeast, used the Seminoles logos, only instead of garnet and gold colors like FSU, they use orange and blue. They are still fighting Florida State for use of the logo, and FSU is battling bad press.
"I don't know how it started, and I'm not sure why it's happening now. I don't know why they're going after high schools at all. We're probably increasing their sales," Weed said.
"I guarantee we have kids who run to their local Sports Authority and Walmart and go buy licensed merchandise with the Gator head on it so they can wear it to school. They make much more money on it than we've ever pretended to make. We're not selling the logo. We're using the logo to represent our high school."
But for the colleges, it's not about money. It's about the strength of their brand.
Janine Sikes, UF's director of public affairs, said CLC last year notified schools across the country about "the increased use of high schools using collegiate logos," and that high schools were making money by selling gear in team stores.
Both Palm Beach Gardens and Glades Day claim they make no money by selling Gator-branded merchandise, and that all UF-inspired apparel is solely for team use.
Despite that, federal law states that trademark holders have a responsibility to police their trademarks. If too many high schools are found using the Gator head, for example, UF might find it difficult to justify that the mark represents the university - and that could lead them to lose legal rights to the trademark.
"Bottom line, the University of Florida has worked extremely hard to create a distinctive and strong brand identity. And licensing other schools to use the Gator head brand certainly dilutes the strength of that," Sikes said.
Some other schools aren't worried, and think licensing their logos is good for public relations.
In the 1990s, the University of Miami reached an agreement with a school in Oklahoma for use of it's "U" logo, which it trademarked in 1992. Union High School (Tulsa, Okla.) athletic director and football coach Bill Blankenship thought by using the logo, he was paying tribute to then-UM coach Larry Coker, who had been his position coach in college. The schools eventually reached an agreement in which Union would pay $1,000 a year to use the "U."
According to other reports, Kansas State has worked out agreements with high schools for use of its "Powercat" logo ($500 every two years) and Arizona State's Sun Devil mark can be used for as little as $1 per year - as long as a school notifies the university of its intention.
However, UF maintains it is not interested in renting out the Gator head. "Licensing agreements with high schools are extremely difficult to maintain and manage," Sikes said, and the onus is on the university to maintain quality control.
It's unclear if colleges are going after youth leagues with the same gusto. An official from The Acreage Youth Tackle Football League said that they have not been contacted by any colleges. The Acreage league has several teams that use college logos.
The National Football League feels much differently.
The league welcomes youth leagues and high school teams to use their logos - for free, without notification.
"There is no process, there's no registration, there's no fee involved," NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said.
"We think it's great if a local team wants to use a logo of an NFL team," he said. "We think it's a great opportunity to inspire kids to one day play in the NFL and wear the real helmet."
West Boca Raton used a Houston Texans steer logo on its helmet until this season, but ditched the mark for the word "Bulls." American Heritage, in Delray, uses the Denver Broncos logo. Palm Beach Central uses a combination of Broncos and Chicago Bears logos for its mark.
As long as area schools comply with phasing out the college logos, there are no penalties or fines incurred.
The schools will phase out the logos as they buy new uniforms. Glades Day has already begun complying by changing the Gators script on their helmets. The next time they refinish the gym floor, they must paint a new style of Gator on it. But the schools must remove signage on the school's property as soon as reasonably possible. Gardens has covered up a Gators logo on its gym wall.
"If we had to do it all at once, we'd be crippled," said Glades Day co-athletic director Joe Gaethle. "That would be crushing."
None of the people interviewed for this story disagreed with the fact the colleges are on solid legal ground. But for years, high schools and youth teams have used the logos without penalty.
"They didn't make us take our uniforms and burn them, or redo the gym floor now," Egley said. "We understand why they do it. But emotionally, it just upset a lot of people around here."
Echoing a common theme, Edgley said Glades Day students and alumni are happy to design a new logo.
"It'll be nice to have something unique, that's ours. We'll have something that when someone sees it, they say 'That's Glades Day.' We're excited about that. Getting to that point? We're not too excited about that," Gaethle said.
And of course, CLC, UF's licensing company, can't wait to see Glades Day's new look.
"They're excited to see the logo, too. One, to see if it matches theirs. But also because it's going to be cool.
"And we might use them to license the logo, who knows."
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