Lou Pickney's Online Commentary
Ace Purple Revamping?
Wednesday
May 18, 2011
My alma mater, the University of Evansville, sent me an email invitation to fill out a survey over the possible revamping of the school's mascot, Ace Purple, who sadly in the past 10-11 years has been phased out of being the primary logo in favor of a star connecting to the A in Aces, not quite "the WCW bird crap logo" bad, but still doing little to promote the unique name/mascot that Evansville has. Here's a look at the Q&A; keep in mind that often in situaitons like this, the questions are a hint of what might happen soon.
|  | Evansville's Ace Purple is a wonderful mascot.
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SURVEY
Ace Purple was created in the late 1960s in the image of a turn-of-the-century riverboat gambler, representing Evansville’s location on the banks of the Ohio River.
He also brandished a club with a spike on one end and carried a gun, and his facial features included a sneer.
In 1977, Ace Purple went through an update as UE moved to Division-1 in athletics and with that came another change to Ace Purple as a more likeable character who was cunning, daring, quick wit and had shrewd judgment and those are the current characteristics of Ace Purple.
As the university enters a new era with the move into a new state of the art basketball arena, it is an appropriate time to consider a makeover for our good friend Ace.
We need your help in telling us what you like and dislike about the current Ace Purple, and what you’d like to see if Ace were to receive a makeover.
Please take a few moments to complete these 4 short questions. We value your thoughts regarding the mascot that represents your beloved institution!
1. Does Ace Purple need a makeover?
X No
You may expand on your answer, but other questions allow for specifics.
Lou: While the University of Evansville has incorporated orange into its color scheme in place of gold, the "classic" Ace Purple look (purple and white) never utilized gold and, hopefully, won't be forced to endure an upgrade that includes a clashing orange.
2. What do you like about the current Ace Purple?
Lou: He's a 1900s riverboat gambler, a hustler, yet he's not menacing or mean-spirited in any way, at least in his current incarnation. His mustache is first-rate as are his sideburns. There are no racial or violent connotations with him, and Ace Purple is beloved by alumni and children alike.
3. If given the opportunity to make a change to Ace, what would you change or update?
Lou: I'd keep Ace as-is with looks and his color scheme (read: no orange) and return him to his rightful place as the primary image representing UE athletics, replacing that awful logo with the star shooting into the A in Aces. I'd buy more UE merchandise if Ace Purple was represented instead of the shooting star A ,which really has nothing to do with Evansville. They're the Purple Aces, not the Minnesota North Stars.
If you change anything, please consider phasing out the orange. A return to yellow/gold as a secondary color would be preferred -- purple and orange clash horribly.
4. Thinking of other human-like mascots (non-animals) such as Michigan State Spartie, Purdue Pete, Notre Dame Leprechaun, USC Trojan, and Valparaiso University's Crusader. What do you like or dislike about these mascot characters? Feel free to comment on other specific human-like mascots - expressions, costumes, etc.
Lou: It's a bit silly to see mascots that are "real people" without a true mascot top, e.g. the WVU mountaineer guy (or woman as the case may be). I'm not saying to go crazy and have Ace Purple looking like that creepy Oklahoma State mascot cowboy, either. In short, the less you change Ace, the happier I will be as an alumnus. Think less about change and more into incorporating Ace into UE promotional products.
Evansville is fortunate to have a unique mascot and team name, and the more the school does to embrace that, the better off it will be.
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