Red and white to cream and crimson

After minor changes throughout the athletic department in his first six months as athletics director, Michael McNeely has begun to make significant changes at IU. The first came when McNeely supported the Bloomington Faculty Council's proposal to focus more intensely on academics and less on athletics. The second major change to his position was firing ex-football coach Cam Cameron and the hiring former Vanderbilt and Louisiana State coach Gerry DiNardo. The third and most recent change will be the most noticeable -- the use of the vintage cream and crimson IU school colors and the addition of a new logo and mascot.\nThe red and white that fans see waved at IU sporting events could be missing as early as February. Mary Ann Rohleder, assistant athletics director for marketing said the colors are not new to IU. The school fight song clearly states cream and crimson as the IU colors, so the plan is to redefine and identify them. \nRohleder said a company has been hired to conduct market research and to oversee the revamping of the department. The goal of the makeover is to have brand identification -- something that requires University-wide consensus, she said.\nChanges with color are not the only thing proposed for a newer look. Rohleder added that plans have been made for a new logo, icon and mascot that represent the characteristics of a Hoosier.\n"Our target date is to have this done by early February," Rohleder said. "We are hoping that this unites all the athletic teams."\nMcNeely agreed that the unity of university athletic teams is important to the growth of IU athletics as a whole.\n"The best way for you to be successful, in Indiana University or Indiana University athletics, is as one team," McNeely told the Associated Press. "I've said it before, our competition is not ourselves. It's all our neighboring schools in the Big Ten Conference." \nMcNeely did not respond to interview request for this story. Sports Information Direction Kim Dunning said McNeely was not in charge of the decision to change the colors.\nWhile the athletics department is viewing the change as a positive one, some fans don't agree with the switch.\nA fan poll on ESPN.com showed that of the 8,439 online voters, 62.7 percent voted against the changing IU's colors.\nThe unification of colors and logos is not the only thing that McNeely spoke of changing in the future. McNeely also told The Associated Press there is a plan in the works for a student-athlete support center that will include academic support, training, sports medicine and equipment for all IU sports. The plan also outlines space for ticket and apparel sales and a second gym. \nEnglish professor Murray Sperber pointed out the support that McNeely lent to the BFC and IU President Myles Brand for the "academics first" proposal passed in December. Under the proposal, there was a call to lessen the "arms race" and commercialization of collegiate athletics. Sperber said McNeely's new plan contradicts his earlier support of the academics first reform.\nSperber also questioned how the athletics department will have money and resources to build such a facility. \n"There have been state-wide budget cuts, and they are looking to spend money that they do not have," Sperber said.