EAST GRAND FORKS, Minn.-An East Grand Forks print shop owner and the designer of a noncommissioned Fighting Hawks logo are planning to produce their own line of merchandise following last week's release of the official University of North Dakota athletics logo.
Matt Stengl, owner of Stengl's Signature Graphics, said he's just trying to give the people what they want by putting Blaine Durward's version of Fighting Hawks logo into production.
The university's new logo has received some negative feedback. A petition for changing the university's new logo, designed by SME Inc. of New York, has nearly 6,000 signatures.
The logo version by UND senior Blaine Durward greatly differs from the school's logo unveiled last week, and as Stengl said, Durward's has no direct UND branding.
Stengl said he reached out to Durward about producing merchandise that could likely compete with the official university's Fighting Hawks apparel.
"The difference is we don't put anything UND. We're not putting anything that says Fighting Hawk on it. This is just a green hawk," Stengl said.
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UND officials said if there is similar likeness to their logo it could be problematic, but they have no comment on this particular design.
"It's pride," Stengl said. "And UND has a lot of pride. And I hope, at the end of the day, UND looks at this. And I think Blaine did a superior job on his logo. And that he should be more recognized on it. And hopefully that's something they will take a hard look at."
Durward had volunteered his creation to be considered as the official logo, for free, before the university went with SME's designers.
"I think I sent the logo, actually, to (interim UND President) Ed Schafer," Durward said. "I emailed him in December, just for the fun of it when I was in the library. I told my buddy that I was going to do it. I sent it to him and he never responded. I don't even know if he opened it."
Stengl said his mother was a manager of the Sioux booster club until the early '90s. "It's ironic that my mother used to sell UND merchandise," he said.
Stengl said he and Durward are working out production details.
"It's something that is taking flight," Stengl said. "It's all been real positive. There's nothing much negative."
UND paid SME Inc. $50,000 to create the recently unveiled logo.
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The official UND Fighting Hawks gear will be available Aug. 13.
Rob Beer of Forum News Service contributed to this report.
