After receiving a legal complaint from the University of Tennessee’s Office of Trademark Licensing over what they describe as the “improper use” of their trademarked property, the Tyrone Area School District has announced that it will replace its long-used orange ‘T’ logo by June 1, 2025.

The complaint, which was sent to the school district on March 25, states, “As the sole and exclusive owner of the iconic orange ‘T,’ the University of Tennessee has a zero-tolerance policy regarding unauthorized replication, reproduction, imitation, or even accidental visual similarity to said mark.”

Superintendent Leslie Estep alerted staff of the decision to comply with the complaint on Monday via email. The students will be briefed on the situation during an assembly on Tuesday afternoon.

“We are saddened by the news about our logo. The orange ‘T’ has been synonymous with Tyrone for 30 years now, and it feels unjust to have it taken from us after such a long time,” Estep said in her email. “But on the advice of legal counsel, we have no choice but to change it.”

According to Estep, the district could fight the order in court, but it would be too risky. 

“The University of Tennessee has much deeper legal pockets than the Tyrone Area School District. If we were to lose a lawsuit, which is possible according to our lawyers, it would cost more in legal fees than the district can afford.  Therefore, instead of fighting it, the administration has agreed to comply with the order,” Estep said. 

To see a copy of the order sent to Tyrone Area School District on March 25, 2025, click HERE.

According to Tyrone sports historian Kerry Naylor, the school has used the orange  “T” logo since 1995. Despite its similarity to the Tennessee Volunteers logo, this is the first time Tyrone has faced any legal issues regarding its use.

Administrators are unsure exactly how much it will cost to replace everything that uses the ‘T’ logo, but the brunt of the cost will be absorbed by the athletic department. 

“The total cost to replace everything that has the orange ‘T’ will be huge. I estimate that it will cost at least $50,000 just to replace uniforms.” Tyrone athletic director Lucas Rhoades said. “Of course, we also added a huge Tennessee-style T to our high school gym floor, so the floor will need to be redone for the third time in two years. That will cost as much as $30,000. We will also need to replace the T on the new turf soccer field, which could be another $10,000 to $15,000.”

Tyrone appears to be on the receiving end of a targeted legal attack. It is the only local school district facing legal trouble, but not the only one currently using an NCAA or professional sports copyrighted logo. 

The Eagle Eye has identified several other local school districts in potential violation of copyright law, including Central, Clearfield, and Glendale.

Central and Clearfield wear a ‘C’ on their hats and helmets that strongly resembles the Cincinnati Reds logo. Click HERE to see Central’s logo and HERE to see Clearfield’s baseball uniforms.  The Glendale Area School District’s athletic logo is an exact copy of the Minnesota Vikings logo.

At this time, there are no reports of Central, Clearfield, or Glendale being in legal trouble. 

“It seems like we’re the only school in the area being punished, even though other schools are doing the same thing,” senior baseball player Landon Hamer said.

The cease and desist order goes into effect on June 1st.  After that, Tyrone risks fines of up to $5,000 per event for using the orange ‘T’ logo. This includes the use of the orange T logo on uniforms, facilities, fan and coaching merchandise, and accessories.

The rebranding could happen as early as this school year because with the baseball and track teams off to undefeated starts, both teams could have a deep postseason run. This would put Tyrone in a predicament, as their spring seasons would stretch past June 1st, the deadline established by the legal complaint.  

Each game of the state playoffs could cost Tyrone an additional $5,000 if the situation is not resolved before June 1. 

“I don’t know what we’re going to do if the baseball team makes the state playoffs since there’s no way new hats or uniforms would be here in time. That’s not even factoring in the financial aspect of it. Hopefully they will lose because we really can’t afford for them to win,” Rhoades said. 

Rhoades said the school district must have a new logo chosen by the end of the week, just in case new hats and uniforms are needed for the state baseball playoffs.

Last week, high school art teacher Eric Feather made designing a new logo into a class project for his advanced art students. They came up with 10 possible designs.  

“Considering the short amount of time we had to do this, I think the students did a very commendable job,”  Feather said. “No matter which one is ultimately chosen, I think it will be an upgrade from an artistic and design point of view.”

The school is holding an online vote of students and the community to choose a new logo. Because of the short timeline to replace the logo by June 1, the deadline to vote is this Friday, April 4.  

Click below to vote for your favorite option to replace the current orange ‘T’ on helmets, hats, fields, and other promotional material. The logo with the most votes by Friday, April 4, will be the new school logo after June 1, 2025.

Click on your favorite new logo and then click the Vote button at the bottom of the page to record your choice

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