Today Tarleton State University sent an email through the Daily Digest to faculty, staff and students with several proposed drafts for the updated Texan Rider logo and are seeking feedback through a series of survey questions.  

Last Fall, several Tarleton students, alumni, faculty and staff participated in a discussion to update the classic Tarleton Texan Rider.

After reviewing and discussing the feedback and all possibilities, Vice President of Advancement & External Relations, Kyle McGregor, who is spearheading the project decided that the search for a new Texan Rider logo would begin.

In December Assistant Vice President for Marketing and Communications, Harry Battson, told JTAC News that the Texan Rider logo was being changed in order to modernize the rider and follow the current trajectory of Tarleton.

According to a JTAC News poll, 1,205 out of 1,674, or 72 percent of participants believed that the logo should be left alone and did not require an update. Upon print of the first story regarding the Texan Rider being changed, many JTAC News readers vehemently voiced their opinion against the Rider being changed.

When the logo was originally designed in the 1960s, the Texan Rider was just a lone rider. Besides the change of putting the rider over an outline of Texas in the 1980s, the rider has not been changed for many years.

According to Battson, several firms sent in designs and logos for review, in December of 2015, a decision was made to pair with Rickabaugh Graphics. Battson said the contract for new designs cost around $10,000.

“It was a back and forth process, they sent us four main concepts, we picked one and then they sent us several final designs to pick from,” Battson said. “We heard feedback from several hundred people in order to arrive at this design.”

The final designs were submitted for review by several key stakeholders on Wednesday, June 15, with a release to the student body today (June 17). The proposed drafts and the feedback survey can be found at www.tarleton.edu/marketing/spiritmark.

Upon print of this story, no final date has been determined for when a final version of the Texan Rider logo will be selected. However, once the final design has been decided upon, the President’s office will decide when to begin implementation. 

Rickabaugh Graphics, the company selected by Battson and McGregor, specializes in team branding. They have previously worked on and helped create the highly iconic solid Ohio State “O” trademark.  Other notable clients have been Vanderbilt University, The Texas A&M University, the Philadelphia ’76ers and several other NFL and NHL teams.