Chisholm to introduce new brand

The Chisholm Longhorn is getting a brand of its own.

Chisholm Public Schools partnered with Varsity Brands to create a customized Chis-holm Longhorn and lettering for the district, High School Principal Shane Dent said.

The current Longhorn is similar to the Texas Longhorn, Superintendent Roydon Tilley said, and past mascots have changed form over the years.

“I have a number of Chisholm shirts at home and I would say there are no less than six different Longhorns on those,” he said. “Our first Longhorn looked like a bear with horns. Another looked like a horse with horns… I’ve seen a lot of different Longhorns since I’ve been here.”

The district created a subcommittee to work on the branding project, including a school board member and students, Dent said.

“Now, having an official Longhorn for the school will be fun,” he said. “The kids we have worked with so far, they’re excited about the designs and we’ve gotten positive feedback from them. It’s funny how something so simple can be so exciting.” 

Dent said the district has been working on the project most of the year.

“We started looking at organizations that might be able to assist us around spring break,” he said. “One of our goals in mind was to not use any school funds to do something like this. Although we felt like it had value and was important, it wasn’t something we wanted to spend money on in this day and age.”

Chisholm has worked with BSN Sports and Varsity Brands over the years, and they approached Chisholm about a branding campaign, Dent said. The company created the branding for Chisholm free of charge in order to use Chisholm’s branding as an example to other schools, Dent said.

“Part of the agreement we have, we allow them to bid on those things that will use the logo — they get first bid,” he said. “They get the chance to compete for whatever we’re in the business of making. We don’t have a purchase agreement, just the bid agreement.”

Things that would use the logo include athletic equipment, wind screening, mats and more, Dent said. 

The new brands include official school logos, crest, mascot, lettering and colors. 

Dent said they plan to unveil the new brand at the district’s back-to-school event Aug. 13. 

“I always want the kids at my school to believe they are at the best school,” he said. “Everyone should think their school is the best. I think this helps. It’s a source of pride.”