During Penn's romp over San Diego this weekend, perhaps the most talked about person on the field was Penn's new mascot.
Sporting a tri-corner hat and pony tail, the new outfit is a continuing part of Penn's effort to re-brand itself.
"Over the past few years there's been a lot of work done to update Penn's brand, from the new school logo to the brand identity for Penn Athletics," said Sharlene Sones, director of marketing for Penn Business Services. "So we felt this was a good time to update the mascot, too."
Penn worked with branding and design firm SME to create a new look for the University.
The New York-based firm has worked with countless professional and collegiate sports teams, from the New York Knicks and Saint Louis Cardinals to the University of Florida and Oklahoma State University.
The National Hockey League, National Football League, National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball are also listed as clients of SME.
When designing the new mascot, Sones said that the University "wanted to retain the fan friendliness of the mascot, which entertains at the games and also has great appeal to the kids."
"So we didn't make a lot of major changes, but instead evolved the Quaker. We made it lighter and more maneuverable."
SME presented the University with several design options for the new costume. Various "constituents all across campus" reviewed and revised these options.
The final decision was made by the Penn Athletic Department in conjunction with Penn's Office of Communications.
The design firm then contracted an independent designer who actually created the costume.
According to SME's Web site, the firm's branding campaign concentrated on Penn's "defining itself in the cluttered world of the collegiate experience."
Central to the campaign was referring to the school simply as Penn and introducing the brand positioning of "The Forward Looking Ivy."
Other areas in which the Penn Athletic Department looked to rebrand itself included the Penn Relays, Franklin Field and the Palestra.
The new look brings the Penn Athletic Department more in line with the rest of the University, which completed its own rebranding two years ago.
As part of the "One University" initiative, all of Penn's various schools, such as Wharton and the School of Nursing, implemented new logos which shared the common University shield.
The change was designed not only to unify the University's various schools, but also to reinforce Penn's status as a member of the Ivy League.
In this vein, the new athletics logo emphasizes the shield, a common moniker associated with the Ancient Eight.
The unveiling of the new costume was a surprise to most Penn fans in attendance. Reaction was mixed, with some praising the more modern look and others ridiculing the Quaker, comparing it to a pirate.
The new look outfit is covered entirely in a soft fabric, whereas the old costume featured a hard, paper-mache head.
The new look Quaker will make his Franklin Field debut this Saturday night when the football team takes on Villanova at 7 p.m.
