BYU's "Rise as One" slogan for the '14 football season has "expired before the season even begins because of a trademark issue," according to Randle & Baltich of online student newspaper THE UNIVERSE. BYU Associate AD Duff Tittle on Monday confirmed that the school "pulled the 'Rise as One' slogan after discovering" Anheuser-Busch trademarked it as part of a Budweiser campaign. Tittle: “We found out about two to three weeks ago." He added that it was a "university decision to steer clear of the recently-trademarked phrase." A-B "filed a trademark registration for the slogan" in August '13 and unveiled the campaign in March '14 as "part of its global World Cup marketing." The campaign, "produced in conjunction" with FS1, includes a "six-episode soccer series showcasing inspiring stories in sports." Nike also launched its "Rise as One" campaign for the '12 NCAA Tournament but "there is no indication it trademarked the phrase at the time." An A-B spokesperson said that the company "knew nothing about BYU's plans to use the slogan" and was not "behind any initiative to shut it down" (UNIVERSE.BYU.edu, 8/5). YAHOO SPORTS' Nick Bromberg noted BYU's "official game day shirt" had the slogan on it and it has been "pulled from the campus bookstore." The conflict was "first noticed in June by a poster on a BYU message board" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 8/5).
