The big news in the Big East, Syracuse updates its logo and shortens its nickname. Gone is the dopey Carrier Dome above “Syracuse” logo. (The new logo is quickly replacing the old image everywhere.)

Apparently Syracuse had some 20 different logos for its teams. Now they are standardizing it with one logo.

The color looks almost like the burnt orange for Texas, but according to the story, they are using a “brighter orange than the current version.” The one thing that is not good for the ‘Cuse, they are going to go with a darker shade of blue. Free advice, in the short-term it may seem like a good idea, but you will start to miss the older, brighter shade. Trust me.

I like the new logo, though. It is simple,one color, and easily understood to be Syracuse U. Logos shouldn’t be too detailed. They should be something a student can easily sketch onto a sign or on a t-shirt. Something that can be reproduced at any size without making it look too incoherent or a blob [Are you referring to any other school logo in particular? No. Of course not.]

The other aspect is the elimination of “Orangemen” and “Orangewomen.” All teams will simply be the “Orange.” How much can a fan of “Pitt” over “Pittsburgh” be bothered by shortening the name? Even ‘Cuse fans are feeling a little ambiguous.

The only other thing I note, is that this has apparently been in the works for a couple years in consultation with Nike. Right now Pitt is trying to get out of its uniform contract with Adidas. If Pitt goes with Nike, I think it’s safe to guess that Pitt might be willing to make changes and — dare we dream — maybe go back to being called Pitt.