Ohio State trademark case shows branding is getting out of control in college athletics

There are many aspects to major college athletics.

Funding, academic oversight, facilities and athletic success are the primary things athletic directors watch. But in the last few years, branding has become equally important.

Branding encompasses funding, but it also dips into facilities and athletic success. Winning programs typically have the most money, the best facilities and win on the field consistently.

Alabama would not be "Alabama" without the multiple SEC and national titles. Clemson would not be "Clemson" without its recent success, nor its facilities. Both of those programs are arguably 1a and 1b in the college landscape entering the 2019 season.

Protecting a brand involves trademarks. Trademarks on the school logo, catch phrases and color scheme are all things smart athletic departments lock up ownership on. But recently, one school took things a step further.

It was found Ohio State submitted a trademark application for the word 'The' on August 8.

The application was first noticed by Josh Gerben, a trademark attorney in Washington D.C. Below is a quick video he posted on Twitter. He has some great insight on the issue. I highly recommend you go to Twitter and give it a quick listen, less than a minute.

The Ohio State University has filed a trademark application on the word "THE."

The filing, made on August 8th, indicates #OhioState is offering a brand of "THE" clothing.

Not sure how 'The U' will feel about this one.

My analysis 👇:#BuckeyeNation #MiamiHurricanes pic.twitter.com/1UvLOAOnIc

— Josh Gerben (@JoshGerben) August 13, 2019

As Gerben states, this is done for merchandise rights to go on shirts, hats and whatever else the Buckeye administration can think to slap the word on.

As he also said, OSU will probably fail this go-around, but they will inevitably try again if that is the course things take.

Ohio State has every right to protect their brand and make money off any initiative it wants to attempt. But attempting to trademark such a common word as 'the' is ridiculous.

It is well known the name THE Ohio State University is common place, but they are not the sole university that has THE in front of their name. This is similar to if a school wanted to trademark 'of.'

It is also a sign that college athletic branding is getting out of hand.

You will get no argument from me on a business entity protecting itself, and let's be clear, major college athletics are business, despite the fact they are listed as non-profit organizations (another blog for another day).

Yes, branding ties into everything, including recruiting (an example is Michigan State's new alternate uniform, which you can also read about here). But when schools are going to this level, rationality has to start coming in at some point where we all say, you are going a little overboard here.

Right?

I know college football, football in general actually, brings out fanatics. But fanaticism should be left at the door of the business office of these universities. At least to a point.