The athletic department is getting a makeover.

Tim Demant, athletic director, announced in an email sent to student athletes on February 21 that the department has partnered with Mongoose Graphics of Thornton, Colo. to develop a new brand and logo.

According to Josh Gleason, assistant athletic director of communications, the purpose of the rebranding project is threefold.

First, the department wants to boost its brand recognition. Second, it hopes the new brand to create a better “sense of unity.” Third, the new brand will be “more versatile” to meet the different needs of the department.

The department plans to unveil the new brand during May Term and use the summer to implement the changes by the time fall sports begin.

Gleason said he hopes the new brand will create more unity within and among athletic teams as well as tie the department together with the college.

“Right now, there is not much unity between the institutional identity and the athletic identity,” he said. He is hopeful that in the rebranding processes, “we will find a way to link them.”

Gleason also said that a new brand will allow team swag to look more similar.

“There are different ways the (current) brand is represented,” he said. He believes the project will bring the visual representation of the department “under the same umbrella.”

He described the current logo and branding of the department as “two-dimensional,” which he said “has been very restricting” in creating different products for the athletic teams.

The department entertained rebranding bids from ten companies and chose to contract Mongoose Graphics, recipient of SportsLogos.net’s 2013 Best New Sports Logo Award for its work at Creighton University, of Omaha, Neb.

“We were fortunate that they saw a unique opportunity in us,” said Gleason. “They caught our passion.”

Gleason said Mongoose will understand the department’s values of service and “giving back” as well as work within a tight budget.

This rebranding project comes in the same semester that Goshen College announced short-term financial cutbacks. Gleason said the project is a long-term decision.

“It’s not a reactionary decision,” he said. “It’s a long-term investment and priority. It has been discussed for years. We hope that it will be a representation of us moving forward, and yes, through this short-term obstacle.”

The project will be funded mostly by the regular contributions of the Maple Leaf Athletic Club, which is a group of donors organized by the Development Office to support the Athletic Department.

An official cost of the project has not been announced by the department.

A committee will guide the rebranding process. The committee includes Gleason; J.T. Townsend, vice president for enrollment and marketing; Jodi Beyeler, interim director of communications and marketing; Todd Yoder, Maple Leaf Athletic Club development office representative; Alex Childers, head baseball coach; Stephanie Miller, head women’s basketball coach; and Jordan Kauffman, former athlete and 2011 graduate.

Gleason said the change will be positive.

“No experience as student athletes is changing, it’s simply a logo,” he said. “I hope it gives [athletes] a sense of pride in what they are doing and that it will recognize their hard work and drive.”