Chancellor Jimmy Cheek announced a compromise regarding the Lady Vols logo during a press conference Monday evening. For the 2016-2017 season, all UT women’s athletes will be required to wear a commemorative Lady Vols patch on their uniforms that will sport the Lady Vols logo. After that season, each female athlete will be given the option of wearing the patch on an individual basis rather than a team basis.

Cheek conferred with Director of Athletics Dave Hart and the Knox County legislative delegation over the last few days before announcing the decision Monday. The decision was made without the consultation of student athletes or athletic staff.

Cheek described the compromise as a positive move for the university, one which he hopes will satisfy those who opposed the June decision to remove the Lady Vols logo from all women’s sports branding except basketball.

“We hope that this move by the university will be the first of all to consolidate our whole university around the Power T, but also recognize the legacy of the Lady Vols,” Cheek said. “It brings unity to our athletic program, it helps us with recruitment and it provides a much better atmosphere for all students.”

The “legacy patch” has yet to be designed, but will be ready for use by August of 2016.

The announcement comes less than a week after a state vote was delayed that would have forced the university to reinstate the Lady Vols logo for all women’s athletic teams. The bill is scheduled to appear before the Education Administration and Planning Subcommittee Tuesday at 4 p.m.

Though Cheek was unclear whether the move would satisfy the lawmakers in Nashville, he expressed a desire to move on from the issue to focus on more important problems.

“We’ve got so many things this year in the legislature that this is not one of the issues they need to be discussing,” Cheek said. “Hopefully we can now focus on other things.”

The Chancellor also remained unapologetic about the re-branding decision made last summer, describing the Power T as the most iconic and proven tool the university could utilize to market itself.

“If you put the power T on, everybody knows who you are,” said Cheek. “That helps us promote the university.”

Hart described the move as a “great tribute” to the tradition of Lady Vols athletics.

“I have always said we are going to continue to fund ways to honor the legacy of the Lady Vols as we move forward,” Hart said in a statement made Monday.