Army has rebranded its athletic program and will now be "known as Army West Point," according to the Middletown TIMES HERALD-RECORD. The military academy "will continue to be nicknamed the Black Knights with its former nickname of Cadets being used as a secondary reference." Army and Nike "collaborated for 18 months" on the rebranding. The athletic department also "worked with the U.S. Army and Academy leadership, current and former cadet-athletes, coaches, historians and West Point graduates" (Middletown TIMES HERALD-RECORD, 4/14). The ARMY TIMES' Kevin Lilley notes the academy's new "Athena Shield" will "take the place of the sword-wielding Black Knight-behind-the-'A' logo that still adorned Michie Stadium's midfield stripe as of Monday night." West Point History Dept. Head Col. Ty Seidule, who worked closely with Nike, noted that the new logo "features a helmet, sword and star on a shield background in traditional gold and black colors, a design meant to be 'evocative' of the history of West Point" (ARMY TIMES, 4/14). Army football coach Jeff Monken said that his team "will wear the new gold pants, black jerseys and gold helmets for home games this season." Monken: "I like traditional uniforms. It’s one of the things I love about college sports and college football is the traditions. To have a traditional uniform that we can wear each week is great for us. That’s what I anticipate seeing (us in)." In New York, Sal Interdonato notes the football team last season "wore 12 different uniform combinations, including camouflaged jerseys" (Middletown TIMES HERALD-RECORD, 4/14).
