NCAA Scrambles After WMU Fans Spot Wrong Broncos Logo at Frozen Four

Earlier this week the NCAA found itself skating on thin ice with Western Michigan University fans (and this time, it wasn’t over a controversial call during a game.)

As excitement has building for WMU’s first-ever Frozen Four appearance, fans arrived in St. Louis last weekend and started sharing photos from the Enterprise Center. While this is where the national semifinals were set to take place, fans must have thought they were in the wrong place when they spotted the sub-ice surface on Monday and saw the wrong logo for their team.

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On the ice was the Broncos logo, it just wasn’t the right one. While getting the ice ready for this games, the NCAA had mistakenly painted an outdated version of the Western Michigan Broncos logo. You know, the one with the gold streaks in the horse’s hair that fans never really loved…On top of that, it’s a design that has been retired for nearly two years.

Broncos fans took to twitter and got loud about what they saw as disrespect, all because they’re fiercely proud of their updated logo. After that, It didn’t take long for WMU’s athletic director, Dan Bartholomae, to take notice. By Monday afternoon, he was on the phone with NCAA officials to address the blunder.

This wasn’t the first slight that had fans feeling overlooked. Back during their regional, ESPN’s box score inexplicably referred to the team as “the Bulldogs,” a mistake that left WMU supporters annoyed at best. But, like any passionate fan base, they’re not letting these stumbles from those who don’t know them well take away from the excitement of the Frozen Four. This is a huge achievement for the school and its hockey program to be on the national stage.

Still, it’s hard not to feel a little disrespected when a major institution like the NCAA overlooks the details, especially when it involves something as important as your team’s identity. But at least for now, the logo issue has been resolved, and it’s time for the Broncos to focus on making history on the ice tonight at 5pm when they take on defending national champs, University of Denver.