One day at my daughter’s karate class, I noticed another parent wearing a Pitt golf visor. Pleasantly surprised I asked him about it, only to find out that he was simply the golf coach at Euclid High (nicknamed the Panthers) and that some of his players bought him the visor because of the panther head logo on it.
I’ve never been wild of the Pitt Panther logo that AD Pederson had made and brought right back upon his return. So, I guess I’m a little stunned that any high school nicknamed the Panthers copied it.
The panther head logo emblazoned on the field at Whitmer High School’s football stadium is said to be Ohio’s largest high school field logo.
The only problem is the growling panther image — stretching 20 yards across the center of the $600,000 field — belongs to the University of Pittsburgh, according to Pitt officials.
The university contacted Washington Local Schools in Toledo earlier this month and ordered the high school to stop using it.
Superintendent Patrick Hickey said a Whitmer student has since created a new panther logo and the district plans to trademark it. But to remove the existing logo from the three-year-old football field, its basketball hard court, and from the back stadium wall would mean “enormous dollars.”
That’s because the brilliant yellow panther head isn’t just dyed or painted onto the football field. It’s “sewn” into the state-of-the-art turf, Mr. Hickey said. And, he added, painting over the logo or otherwise covering it might void the warranty.
Yeah, Whitmer High did not exactly engage in a subtle difference.
Whitmer High Panthers
As the article points out, there has been a long history of high schools virtually mimicking college and even pro logos for their own mascots. (How many schools nicknamed the “Cardinals” are virtually indistinguishable from the Louisville or Arizona logo?)
The aforementioned Euclid Panthers used to have a very similar color scheme to Pitt’s old colors with Royal Blue and Yellow.
Like so many others, they now use a darker blue and gold. And their present logo might evoke some other Panther.
Carolina Euclid Panthers
Subtle, huh?
Hopefully, Pitt won’t be too aggressive on this high school. As the story noted, lots of schools and professional teams have gotten more dickish in enforcing their copyright and trademark powers. Money is always the issue, but is it really worth it with most high schools?
