It is common for sports teams, particularly at the collegiate level, to have mascots that represent their identity and instill a sense of pride and camaraderie among players, students, and fans. One popular mascot name that is often used is "Wolfpack." The term "wolfpack" has a strong association with unity, teamwork, and strength. It originates from the behavior of wolves, where they work together in a pack to hunt and protect the group. The name "Wolfpack" can be seen in various sports teams and organizations, such as the North Carolina State University Wolfpack, the Loyola University Wolfpack, and the Sacramento Kings' mascot, Sly the Silver Fox, often referred to as the Fox Pack. The choice of the "Wolfpack" mascot name for a team embodies traits such as loyalty, resilience, and a strong sense of community.

What’s in a Name? Or a Logo? N.C. State, the “Wolfpack” Name, and Lessons in Sports Trademarks

There is a lot of overlap in sports team names. Repetition is noticeable when considering just professional and collegiate football, baseball, and basketball, where Lions, Tigers, and Bears (and Eagles, Warriors, and Wildcats) proliferate. Add in women’s sports, other major sports like hockey and soccer, semi-pro and minor leagues, high-school teams, and even recreational leagues, and the duplication is pronounced, maybe even unavoidable.

Yet it is rare to see disputes over ownership of a team name.

North Carolina State University, whose teams are known as the Wolfpack, is the rare case. The school owns two federal trademark registrations on the word WOLFPACK—known as a “typed drawing” or “standard character” mark—as well as other registrations on designs and logos. The oldest standard-character registration dates back to the early 1980s and comprises several categories, including apparel and college sports events. NC State claims to have used the nickname in athletics competitions since 1921.

This has proved to be a problem for other schools, particularly the University of Nevada, Loyola University of New Orleans, and most recently Keuka College. Each of these schools uses (or—spoiler alert—once used) “Wolfpack” or “Wolf Pack” as a nickname for their sports teams.

NC State’s weapon is trademark law, which is meant to help consumers differentiate among competing products and services in the marketplace. The law gives rights—including the right to exclude others from using marks that are likely to cause confusion as to source, origin, connection, or affiliation—to the first person to use the trademark in interstate commerce.

“Likelihood of confusion” is the key element of trademark infringement. There are several non-exhaustive, non-exclusive factors that go into whether a mark is “likely to confuse”:

the similarity in the overall impression created by the two marks, often referred to as the “sight, sound, and meaning”;
the strength of plaintiff’s mark, measured in how distinctive it is;
the “proximity” or similarities of the goods or services marked, including a comparison of their marketing channels;
any evidence of actual consumer confusion;
defendant’s intent in adopting its mark;
the physical proximity of the goods in the retail marketplace;
the degree of care likely to be exercised by the consumer; and
the likelihood of expansion of the product lines.

No one factor is determinative, though some are more important. The list is not a “score card” to keep track of who wins the most, nor is the conclusion dependent on “bean counting” or on a balancing all factors. Rather, their relative weight will be case-specific.

Disputes over sports logos and other trademarks—more common than over team names—can be evaluated using these factors. In the sports context, many of the factors weigh in favor of the plaintiff/senior user: most sports trademarks are usually highly distinctive and therefore strong, and the goods and services (athletic events, and usually also apparel and other gear) of a mark owner and alleged infringer precisely overlap. Other factors point in the opposite direction: there usually isn’t any evidence of actual confusion or intentional copying; the marks are often separated by large geographical distances, not in close physical proximity; and the sports consumer is generally highly sophisticated, thus able to distinguish between similar marks in a crowded sports marketplace. The remaining factor—similarity of the marks—could therefore have great weight.

But in sports, where unsophisticated consumers are scarce, can likelihood of confusion be shown when two logos are not nearly identical, or two schools are not geographically close? Arguably, extensive travel by collegiate and even high school teams, and nationwide broadcasts of their games, may diminish the mitigating effect of geographical separation. So mark similarity may have an even greater importance.

Most disputes take place out of the public eye, as colleges and universities send cease-and-desist letters to high schools over logos and mascots. Just some examples: Penn State University (Nittany Lions) asked Buna High School (Cougars) in Texas to stop using an identical logo. The University of Connecticut thought that the Morgan High School, just an hour away in Clinton, CT, used a husky logo that was too similar and demanded a change. The author’s own high school—Wayland-Cohocton Central School (Eagles) in Wayland, NY—received a cease-and-desist letter from Boston College (Eagles). At issue was BC’s trademark that features a flying eagle superimposed over the letters “BC”; WCCS uses the flying eagle and similar colors and fonts, but the letters “WC.”

Actual litigation over sports logos, however, is uncommon. Oklahoma State sued New Mexico State over its “Classic Aggie” mascot, claiming that it infringed OSU’s “Pistol Pete” mark. The schools settled, holstering their pistols for a nominal license fee and a limitation on the amount of “Classic Aggie” merchandise that could be used. OSU had previously settled a dispute with the University of Wyoming over the mustachioed, bowlegged cowboy. UW had applied for trademark registration 11 days before OSU. But OSU’s was granted first, and it opposed UW’s still-pending application. The schools came to a concurrent-use agreement specifying the looks and limiting the uses of each logo.

Like Pistol Pete, other logo disputes have been contested in the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board when junior users have attempted federal registration. The Iowa Hawkeyes prevented the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles from registering a new logo they adopted in 2003, using some evidence of actual confusion to help convince the Board that there likely would be consumer confusion in merchandise sales. (Southern Miss launched a new logo in 2015.)

But identical names usually don’t create a stir. With over 1,600 “Eagles” and 1,350 “Tigers” teams, it is no surprise that a “live and let live” mentality generally prevails. In fact, the more teams using a name, and the longer that overlapping use continues, the less likely a court would allow an “owner” to exclude others from such use. NC State bucked that trend, and each of the three disputes holds a different lesson.

Nevada’s teams are known as “Wolf Pack”—two words. Though two words arguably could just as easily be confused with the single word mark, Nevada didn’t make that argument. Instead, the dispute focused on Nevada’s secondary logo, which featured a snarling wolf’s head wearing a top hat. A wolf in a cap is one of NC State’s logos, and to it the similarities were too much. Whether agreeing or not, Nevada chose to adopt a different (much better, in the views of many) logo rather than fight.

Loyola made a small change to placate NC State: it changed from “Wolfpack” to “Wolf Pack.” Interestingly, Loyola claims that its first use of “Wolfpack” dated back to the early 1920s, nearly as far as NC State’s. Had Loyola been able to show it was a senior user, there could’ve been a stand-off: NC State’s federal registrations had become incontestable after five years, so Loyola couldn’t challenge ownership. But neither could NC State prevent Loyola from using “Wolfpack” to the same scope and extent as existed at the time of registration. (In fact, if it were the senior user, Loyola could have prevented NC State from using the mark if it proved likelihood of confusion.)

Keuka College gave up and agreed to change its name (to the Wolves). Keuka had adopted “Wolfpack” only in 2014, concluding that its prior nickname, the “Storm,” was insensitive after towns in its area of upstate New York had endured severe flooding. The decision to abandon “Wolfpack” was entirely pragmatic, and its public statement highlighted some of the legal issues that arise in this context:

Many athletics teams co-exist with the same trademarked nickname, which is legally possible because the litmus test is whether there was a likelihood of consumer confusion between the two marks.

“No one could reasonably confuse Keuka College with NC State given the significant differences in our schools—from our size, to our division, to our colors,” said Dr. Jorge L. Díaz-Herrera, president of Keuka College. “While NC State may be willing to spend their monetary resources on legal challenges at a time when the very value of higher education is being called into question, Keuka College is not.”

Capitulating may be pragmatic, but could it embolden the victor? How aggressive will NC State be? Its registrations cover “college-level men’s and women’s sporting events,” so perhaps it is targeting only collegiate schools. But it also has registrations in other categories, including apparel and other gear. Will it go after youth football teams, club baseball, or AAU basketball?

In general, it’s almost certain that we’ll see more trademark disputes in the future. Merchandising is growing into an important revenue source for many colleges and universities, and high school teams are becoming more and more visible on the Internet, social media, and television broadcasts. As battles are joined, the future may bring some clarity on some of these unsettled legal questions.

The most common mascot names among NC high schools

There are more Eagles than any other mascot in the NCHSAA or NCISAA. There are 73 mascots that belong to one school only.

Posted 2023-08-02T11:05:03+00:00 - Updated 2023-08-03T16:37:48+00:00 By J. Mike Blake , HighSchoolOT Contributor

The N.C. High School Athletic Association is welcoming a handful of new members this year including the Stallions of Southeast Alamance, the Bobcats of Piedmont Classical, and the Guardians of Wake Prep.

The N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association also has a few new members, like the Warriors of Southeastern Christian and the Falcons of Arborbrook Christian.

Between the state's top two athletic associations you'll find plenty of Eagles, Cougars, Knights, Vikings, and Wildcats (the current top-five of the most common high school mascot names in North Carolina) but not nearly as many Furies, Dolphins, Vipers, Barracudas, or Aces (five of the 70-plus mascot names that are used by just one school).

Blake: Hey NC, we need to talk about these mascots (and more)

There's also one school that is playing this year with an interim mascot.

Martin County, the team name given to the singular athletic department between Riverside of Williamston and South Creek high schools (read more on that unique merger here) has decided to combine the two mascots until deciding on a permanent name. So for this year, and perhaps only this year, we get the Martin County Cougars-Knights. (South Creek was the Cougars, Riverside was the Knights.)

Below, we've listed all the mascots in the state from most popular to least common using only schools from these two associations.

The choice of the "Wolfpack" mascot name for a team embodies traits such as loyalty, resilience, and a strong sense of community. It represents the idea that when a group of individuals come together, they can achieve more than they would as individuals. The mascot not only brings a sense of identity and pride to the team, but it also serves as a rallying point for fans.

Keuka College changing 'Wolfpack' nickname amid pressure from NC State

Keuka College is changing its nickname from Wolfpack to Wolves under threat of legal action from NC State. Keuka, which is an NCAA Div. III school in New York state, adopted the mascot in 2014 during a re-branding phase and was contacted by NC State in 2015 regarding the use of the moniker.

The dispute isn't about similarities between logos or school colors -- as you'll discover with a quick trip to Keuka's athletics site. Keuka's Wolfpack is green, white, and yellow. The mascots are markedly dissimilar. The point of contention was the word "Wolfpack" itself; NC State felt that Keuka's use of the (one-word) moniker represented infringement on NCSU's federal trademark of the name.

Keuka College announced its decision to change its nickname rather than fight a legal battle in a release last week that included some pointed words from school president Jorge L. Diaz-Herrera.

"No one could reasonably confuse Keuka College with NC State given the significant differences in our schools, from our size, to our division, to our colors," Diaz-Herrara said in a statement. "While NC State may be willing to spend their monetary resources on legal challenges at a time when the very value of higher education is being called into question, Keuka College is not."

I reached out to both schools for comment in an effort to get some additional clarification on this dispute.

"Keuka plays sports as far south as Florida, and NC State plays across the country, including markets close to Keuka College," NC State spokesman Fred Hartman told me via email. "Both institutions have NCAA teams and club sports teams that compete in the same sports. Neither institution has total control over how others might display or refer to their athletic name, including uses by local or national media and even various merchandise vendors."

Keuka spokesman Pete Bekisz told me through email that the school attempted to negotiate a compromise by expressing a willingness to change from "Wolfpack" to "Wolf Pack." (The University of Nevada legally uses the two-word form as its nickname.) Another possible concession included licensing fees.

But those fees probably would be minimal given the small stature of Keuka College, which has about 1,000 students. Or minimal, at least, compared to what NC State is already pulling in from trademarking licenses.

"Royalties from licensed sales of trademark merchandise generated $800,000 for student scholarships just this year," Hartman told me. "For this and several other reasons, like many universities, NC State works to preserve the value of its trademarks, avoid consumer misinformation, and protect trademarks from possible infringement."

While Keuka clearly disagrees on the infringement issue, this is where the saga ends. They understandably declined to spend money on a fight for a two-year-old mascot, and so there is once again just one Wolfpack.

The image of a wolf or a pack of wolves can evoke emotions of power, intensity, and determination, which can inspire both athletes and spectators. The wolf, as a mascot, can be represented in various ways, from cartoonish and friendly depictions to fierce and intense interpretations. Regardless of the specific design, the wolfpack mascot symbolizes the values and spirit of the team it represents. In summary, the name "Wolfpack" for a sports team mascot is a popular choice due to its association with unity, teamwork, and strength. It instills a sense of pride and camaraderie among players, students, and fans, and serves as a symbol of collective achievement and community..

Reviews for "Adding a Personal Touch: Incorporating Local History into the Wolfpack Mascot Name"

- Emily - 2/5 stars - I was really disappointed with the choice of the Wolfpack as the mascot name. It just sounds so generic and unoriginal. I was hoping for something more unique and exciting. Plus, there are already so many teams with the same name out there. It feels like a missed opportunity to come up with something more creative.

- John - 1/5 stars - The Wolfpack? Seriously? That has got to be the most overused and cliche mascot name ever. I was hoping for something that would embody the spirit and identity of our team, but this just falls flat. It's a shame that the school couldn't come up with something more original and meaningful.

- Samantha - 2/5 stars - The choice of the Wolfpack as the mascot name is just so uninspiring. It's such a generic choice that lacks any real creativity. I was hoping for a name that would really rally the fans and create a sense of pride and unity. Unfortunately, this name just feels like a missed opportunity to do something more exciting and memorable.

From Cub to Full Grown: Naming the Wolfpack Mascot at Different Ages

Finding Inspiration: Famous Wolfpack Mascot Names in Pop Culture

The Impact of the Wolfpack Mascot Name on Team Spirit