This year’s Charger Athletics rebrand celebrates not only the discovery of horse teeth but also over 100 years of patchworked Hillsdale sports history.

Throughout a storied past, Hillsdale has enlisted religious references, live animals, and 80s athleisure style in contributing to its athletic identity.

Junior Anna Julia Bassols, junior Hope Schlosser, and senior Moira Schmitt, under the direction of Professor of History David Stewart, conducted a summer of research into the history of the Charger brand and logo, culminating in a display currently on view in the lobby of the Roche Sports Complex.

“What we learned doing this project in tandem with athletics and marketing is that we love Charger history,” Bassols said. “The respect we have for the old logos and the Chargers people played under is incredible.”

Many early Hillsdale athletic teams competed in crimson and gold, according to Bassols. Team names included “The Hilltoppers,” “The Baptist Boys,” and the “Blue and Whites.”

In 1882, the Hillsdale rowing team, dressed in blue and white, performed so well at the Amateur Rowing World Championship that the college’s other sports adopted these colors. The palette was officially standardized by the college in 1914.

By the 1930s, college athletics dropped other names, and teams unofficially dubbed themselves “The Dales.”

Hillsdale athletics remained “The Dales” until the 1960s with the exception of 1948-1949 when Hillsdale students voted to temporarily rename themselves “The Bearcats.”

“It only lasted one year, and there was no change in mascot or colors,” Schlosser said. “It left almost no mark, but it was still an interesting little twist in our history.”

The lightning bolt, a long-standing element of Hillsdale’s athletic identity, was first worn by coaching staff as early as the 1930s. In 1962, football coach Frank “Muddy” Waters – the namesake for the Chargers’ football stadium – added lightning bolts to football helmets, cementing the graphic element in Hillsdale tradition.

In 1968, Hillsdale’s Alumni Association and Athletic Department proposed that the college adopt the name “Chargers” for its athletic teams. Students voted strongly in favor of the change. The Chargers were officially born in May of 1968. When a new Coat of Arms was unveiled for the College’s 125th anniversary in 1969, it featured a rearing horse at the top.

To celebrate the new identity, the college featured a live horse, named “Hillsdale the Horse,” at its 1969 homecoming. The homecoming game also featured a new fight song, “Charge On.”

Over the next few decades, Hillsdale athletics had a clear name and a rough color palette, but coaches were left on their own to design team uniforms, logos, and branding. This led to several variations of Charger designs and different shades of blue.

This variety was intensified in the 1980s with Florence Griffith Joyner’s appearance in the Olympics, popularizing athletic wear as an expression of personal style. Chargers followed suit, and different designs soon proliferated further.

“It led to some really beautiful variety,” Schlosser said. “However, there wasn’t really one set identity to the school.”

In 2008, the College sought to unify its identity by creating a standardized Charger logo for use across sports. Despite the redesign, however, different athletic wear companies offered different colors of blue, so different colors and logos were still in use across sports.

By 2018, the Hillsdale Administration recognized that a significant rebrand was necessary. That task fell to Hillsdale alumnus Bryan Springer, Creative Director at the College.

To begin the process, Springer collaborated with staff from across departments, scanned hundreds of archived photos, and spoke with researchers to gather a full picture of the history of Hillsdale’s athletic identity. Several alumni also worked on the project, ensuring that it properly encapsulated the historic Charger identity.

Springer also wanted the new Charger brand to reflect Hillsdale’s reputation.

“Athletics are a part of our school,” Springer said. “It’s not everything, but it’s very important and it should have a brand identity on par with what we’re known for academically.”

Springer and his team took special care to bring decades-old traditions into the new logo while making it a cohesive mark. For example, the much-loved lightning bolt can be found in the horse’s mane, and the full-body variation of the horse echoes the rearing version on the College’s coat of arms.

Springer also wanted to convey a horse that would visually communicate the tenacity and strength of Hillsdale athletics.

“It’s irritated,” Springer said. “It’s ready to go. I don’t want to say it’s angry, but it’s ready for battle. It’s gritting its teeth and its nostrils are flared. It’s a serious, tenacious mark that I think is appropriate for our athletics and our athletes.”

According to Springer, feedback on the rebrand has been positive. Springer also noted that he stands by the decision to include barred teeth on the new logo.

“Imagine a mark that doesn’t spur any reaction,” he said. “That’s a failure. If people are feeling particular ways, whether they love it or hate it, that’s good to me. If someone really hates it, that means it’s communicating something.”