IPFW rebrands as Fort Wayne Mastodons

The athletic department formerly known as IPFW will now be called Fort Wayne, according to a release from the school Monday morning.

In a move that only effects athletics, Fort Wayne will continue to use IPFW to refer to its academic brand.

"The Fort Wayne Athletics identity builds a stronger tie to our community and elevates our brand beyond northeast Indiana," Hartley Hutton says. "IPFW is an extraordinary university in an extraordinary city. After careful study and some compelling research results, it became clear that this is the right move for us. This branding initiative also addresses consistency issues, including those by the national media and other institutions, which have arisen since 2012. This shift also strongly appeals to the student-athletes we recruit, as well as the coaches and staff."

The announcement follows a move in 2012 from the Summit League Council of Presidents Strategic Framework that emphasized schools’ geographic names in order to strengthen local identity. The school had been known as Fort Wayne around the Summit League since then and has used the name on its jerseys.

The athletic department has also added the Fort Wayne name to the school’s athletic logo, once again bringing to light one of the more underrated logos in college basketball. Please marvel at it in the image above.