Tonight's finally the BIG night!
After months of speculation and teases and rumors, Arkansas is finally set to show off its shiny new brand identity tonight at the Hogspy Awards.
It remains to be seen if SOMETHING BIG is going to be celebrated or mocked (probably a healthy dose of both), but either way, this is corporate excitement of the highest order.
What We Know
Well, what we can make an educated guess, as the UA has not yet officially announced everything that's going to happen.
We're pretty sure this was an accidental leak of the new alternate logo. It's key to remember that this is a tiny, embroidered version of the logo, not the official graphic. We should get that tonight.
There have been several references to new uniforms from the administration. We don't know if they'll be showing uniforms for all sports tonight or just football, but we're expecting uniforms nonetheless. UA has repeatedly teased something along the lines of the 2007 Adidas uniforms that seem to be uniformly everyone's favorite, but this is a big Nike project, so we know they won't be exactly like those.
And how will the new uniforms incorporate the new alternate logo, if at all? We shall see.
After much discussion of an official color, they seem to have agreed on this:
Here's the only thing I'm willing to show you in regards to the new branding. pic.twitter.com/ZsxIFC3d6p
— Jake Nevill (@jakenevill) April 21, 2014
What We Don't Know
Pretty much all other details you can think of.
UA released this pre-emptive statement on why they're updating everything. The overarching theme of which seems to be that they're not completely overhauling everything, they're just semi-hauling it. Or as they say, "evolution, not revolution".
Of course, this is a fan base that melts down at the possibility of a change to face masks, so any and all minute details will likely be obsessed over as though Bible verses are being reviewed and updated.
Potentially anything could look different tonight. Numbers, letters, the fade to black on the back of the football helmets, or anything else could get a new look.
Be excited. Be afraid. Be indifferent if you don't care how your favorite program looks. If nothing else, it should be an interesting night. "Branding" is what cost us the Slobberin' Hog at Bud Walton, after all, so these things can have long-lasting impacts.
Come back to ArkansasFight.com throughout the night as we'll be bringing updates as they come in.