USC’s new logo, including the year the school was founded (Photo courtesy of the University of South Carolina)
The University of South Carolina is no longer using the “UofSC” logo it put in place in 2019.
The university is rebranding its marketing to “USC” and shifting its focus to a previous, lesser-known tree-and-gates academic logo as its official academic mark, President Michael Amiridis said Wednesday in a press release.
“The actions announced today reflect our commitment to enhancing our iconic brand,” Amiridis said. “In my short time back at the university, alumni and other stakeholders have told me how important it is to return the USC name back to the institution. We are initiating that change today.”
The logo includes “1801,” the year of the university’s founding.
“The Board of Trustees strongly supports this action,” Board Chairman Thad Westbrook said. “Our alumni and stakeholders have overwhelmingly stated their strong desire to return to the USC name and the USC tradition. We are excited about this change.”
There was immense support from alumni and stakeholders to drop the “UofSC” moniker, said Jeff Stensland, the assistant vice president of institutional relations and public affairs for USC.
“A lot of them never stopped calling us USC,” Stensland said.
On social media, many have shown concern over the school sharing an acronym with the University of Southern California, particularly since Carolina lost a branding court case to Southern Cal in 2009 over an interlocking “SC” on sports gear.
Stensland doesn’t see it as an issue.
“We were USC before they were USC,” Stensland said. “Now we’re back, and I don’t see it being a problem.”
The update officially will take effect Jan, 4, 2023.
The smoke stack that overlooks the campus never changed its original ‘USC’ acronym. (Photo by Jayden Simmons)
