"Split M" Controversy

Do you remember that scene in The Social Network where Sean Parker tells Zuckerberg to change the name from The Facebook to Facebook? Same reason: "it's cleaner."

And people dig minimalism nowadays, though I guess a real minimalist would do away with the serifs as well.

You could argue that the Wolverine head is the secondary logo since it has officially made its way to the regular Maize jerseys for the Baseball team. 

is that the middle juts so much further down than in the newer official block M. if you combined the split M with the new block M, i'd love it more I think.

I did like the split M hockey sticks logo and the school shield looked sharp as a shoulder patch.

From an esthetics standpoint the block M is just cleaner, simpler, classier.  Plus I HATE the fact that we have to put Michigan on the block M, like we need to let people know it stands for us.... if they really need to be told what our logo stands for....

I live in Missouri, thus the "Lou", and when i wear one of my block M hats i occasionally get the pro Mizzou shout out.  I immediately mark those people as half-ass college football fans and never speak to them again.  Considering some of them may just have trouble distinguishing the colors, i may be a bit too harsh.  Nah, screw those idiots.

What is the split m and why is it called "the split m"?

Not a huge fan of the Split-M versus the more badass BLOCK M ..

That said, I think a lot of this stems from the post-National Title team.  The stadium was suddenly hanging The Victors in large words all around the stadium and it looked cheesy.

The Split-M harkens back to the mid/late-80's and into the FabFive era early-90's but I have no particular affinity for it.  I know it's en vogue to slam Brandon and for good reason, but the Split-M isn't as impactful as the BLOCK M.

But what do I know ...?

By what fortuitous twist of fate did you end up a Wolverine?

With regard to the split block Ms you posted, there are significant differences between the two marks in terms of typeface—the top uses Gill Sans Bold and the bottom is a variant of Futura Extra Bold—and in the graphic specifics of the block M itself. They're not the same marks, and David Brandon was right in wanting to unify the identity (the old school term from the 1970s and '80s) or what is now known as the "brand" into one distinct and consistent logotype. All corporations from General Motors to Apple to IBM to Nike pursue similar branding policies, and most large educational institutions try to do so as well.

I don't *prefer* the split M but I also don't think there's anything wrong with it. It's just an alternate logo. Most pro teams have two or three logos.

The whole "we shouldn't spell out Michigan because it's obvious" thing is kinda silly because there's quite a few other teams using just a block M and in some parts of the country it's not especially obvious it stands for Michigan. I've seen black Michigan hats with just a yellow M on it and I thought to myself: "Wait, this is virtually identical to an old school Mizzou hat?".

And Bama is a silly example because not only do they have a logo with their A which also spells out Alabama Crimson Tide, they also have the elephant logo for further differentiation.

And guess what, I always thought Bama's A looks uncomfortably similar to the Braves' A. Given that there's probably many Braves fans in Bama - many of which are probably Auburn fans too - that's a bit uncomfortable.

Gil, use whatever you like and love it.  Can you imagine someone selling you a fathead then a few years later telling you you're not supposed to use it?  Keep it forever.

The split M was nice ... for the 90's. Now its stale and needed a revamp - the block M addresses that.

People keep saying Dave Brandon got rid of the split M.  But getting rid of it was a University-level move.  Can anyone provide actual evidence about the impetus to remove it from official use?

Wear what you want. Like what you want. 

There is a very good reason universities and companies are so sensative as to how their current brand and logo is being used. I bet almost everyone on this board can immediately identify the brands below without seeing a single word. In most cases not even a single letter. Most people around the world would be able to do the same. That's powerful.

If you like it, it's great. Don't worry about what anyone else thinks or says. 

Personally, I've always preferred the block M.