UT Knoxville is making a “powerful” move.
As of Jan. 1, UTK will officially begin the transition from using the statewide UT system icon to the “Power T” logo. Used by the athletics department since 1964, the Power T will now be applied to all university promotional documents, on-campus signage and other official material.
At the recent “Cheek Speak” town hall meeting, Chancellor Jimmy Cheek expressed the powerful visual influence of the Power T logo.
“If you hold up one symbol to illustrate the University of Tennessee, what would it be?” Cheek asked. “The Power T.”
Cheek credited the Power T symbol for increases in freshman recruitment, stating that the past few years as they have presented the symbol more, freshman enrollment grew from 4,300 to 4,700 students this academic year.
Margie Nichols, Vice Chancellor for Communications, said the switch will not happen immediately, but new structures and materials, like those related to the newly dedicated James H. Haslam College of Business, will incorporate the Power T.
“There’s not enough money to change everything over automatically,” Nichols said.
Before switching the logo, UT administrators did their homework. Using multiple focus groups in Knoxville and Atlanta comprised of students, faculty, alumni and prospective students, they tested the perception of the UT system logo compared to that of the Power T. Logos of UT’s “peers” and “aspirational peers,” like Ohio State University, were also used as points of reference.
Nichols said support for the Power T was “overwhelming,” with participants characterizing the logo as full of “passion, tradition and energy.”
“All the things we want to be, the Power T represented,” Nichols said.
The move from the system logo to the Power T acts as a way to differentiate the Knoxville campus from the other UT system schools. Nichols said that UT Chattanooga is also currently discussing a move to a yellow “C” symbol.
“We started discussions with the system about how we distinguish ourselves as a campus, while still being part of the family,” Nichols said.
Rebranding, Nichols said, is something the university has been working on steadily for about four years.
“One of the real issues we have at the University of Tennessee Knoxville is who we are and what represents us,” Cheek said, mentioning that the university is working hard to better its branding and marketing.
Building on the popularity of UT sports with the pervasive Power T will put UT’s research accomplishments and academic endeavors on a national stage.
“It’s a really powerful brand,” Nichols said. “It gets a lot of publicity, so why not take advantage of the power of that brand.”
