ATLANTA, GA– The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) has announced a rebrand that will include a new logo, pillars, positioning, and tagline for the league.
The SIAC partnered with the strategic branding agency SME in 2018 to embark on a rebranding initiative that would allow the SIAC to reestablish its brand to best represent the current position and future of its member institutions. “The SIAC is a decorated conference with over 100 years of prosperity. For 108 years, they have created a community focused on cultural advancement, inclusion, and equality, while fostering an environment of fierce athletic competition. It was vital that this rebrand both celebrated all that the SIAC has achieved in its 108-year history, while simultaneously positioning the brand for its next 100 years of success. This rebrand symbolizes what the SIAC ultimately represents, a conference that empowers its members to achieve personal growth in all aspects of their lives,” said Conor O’Flaherty, Managing Director of SME.
As SME’s first project on behalf of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Commissioner Moore saw the SIAC as the perfect fit for this project. “When we began this effort to both re-examine the SIAC brand, one of our objectives was to explore how best to cultivate and calibrate the brand in a manner that will reflect how the SIAC would like to be perceived and defined in the 21st century,” said Commissioner Moore.
In addition to a new logo, the rebrand includes the development of the Conference’s foundational elements, including its brand pillars, personality, messaging, and the “Leaders Rise Here” platform. The SIAC knew that if a new logo was to be made a new slogan had to come with it as well. “Each day our office is charged with helping to create and maintain an environment where young men and women can enter our institutions, learn, grow, develop, and build character as they navigate both the academic and athletic challenges which they are all confronted with,” said SIAC Commissioner Moore. “It is through this process that ultimately, the end result, will be the development of self-actualized college graduates that will be empowered to enter the world and assume the roles of servant leaders paying it forward to the next generation of prospective servant-leaders. It is this aspiration which in large measure served as the inspiration for our new tagline “Leaders Rise Here”.
The strength of the league is, in large part, attributed to the success of the member institutions. “The SIAC has long identified as thoughtful leaders within intercollegiate sports,” said Leighton Batiste, SIAC’s Associate Commissioner of Marketing and Partnerships, “With our diverse group of alumni, students, and fans, we are working to ensure we highlight both the legacy and future of our league with a modern brand.” With this in mind, SIAC institution color-specific logos were developed to allow fans to showcase their conference while simultaneously representing their institution.
Students and fans will see changes across all facets of the organization including the website, all social media channels, merchandise, and team communications beginning September 1, 2021.