On an uneventful Tuesday evening, Jane Port of the Binghamton University Athletic Department decided to look up the school’s logo for no particular reason. To her surprise, and eventually to the University’s alarm, she found that our 20-year-old mascot is not exclusive to Binghamton. The Brookland school system, located in Brookland, Arkansas, uses a bearcat as their sports mascot as well, portrayed in a suspiciously similar logo.
The department is currently under red alert, this copyright violation being the first exciting thing that’s happened to them this season. Lawyers called from every which reference, seeing if Binghamton can file a DMCA claim on this theft and yoink even more money for Divest Bing to investigate. The similarity is so striking - the only differences being the recolor and the removal of “Binghamton University” - that they are certain they will win this lawsuit.
The BUTT’s ground reporters have been looking into this story as it unfolds, and we actually ended up finding A THIRD school sports team, the Wheelers based in Connecticut, that uses the Bearcat.
Just what is it about this very specific Bearcat logo that entices schools to use it? Is this even Binghamton's IP, or was it just a stock photo we bought and colored green? Updates to follow as we find even more Bearcat impostors among us.