News media from MSNBC to the San Francisco Chronicle have used the term “Track Town USA” extensively since the 2008 Summer Olympic Track & Field Trials at Hayward Field. The city of Eugene attracted tourists with the slogan, and the track and field program splashed it on every surface.
More than a year ago, the University began the process to federally trademark the phrase.
“(The University is) trying to protect the brand that they and (the) track and field program have been using for quite a while,” said Matt Dyste, the University’s director of marketing and brand management.
The University began the application process well before the Olympic Trials, realizing the term could be used at any time by anyone else.
“They wouldn’t want, oh let’s say, a town that has a motor racing track, to coin and use the term ‘Track Town’ for their sport,” Dyste said.
Neil Young, a founder of Bowerman’s Pack, a student cheering section at track meets, said the University has “every right to trademark the term.”
As a federal trademark, the phrases “Track Town” and “Track Town U.S.A.” could be used on clothing and to promote sports and educational events. The University would have exclusive rights to use the mark nationwide on or in connection with the goods or services listed in the registration it applied for.
While the trademark provides a sound protection to the University and city of Eugene, its meaning doesn’t change to the avid student enthusiast.
Rene Sanchez, a sophomore English major and a member of Bowerman’s Pack, also agrees with the University’s desire to trademark the term.
“I have never seen another stadium on any campus in the United States that is as knowledgeable and passionate about track and field,” Sanchez said. “Eugene really is ‘Track Town USA’ for the simple fact that no other city has been willing to do as much for the sport as this town and university has.”
During the 2008 Hayward Field renovations, a “Track Town USA” mural was erected behind the east grandstands. The sign stood over spectators and bystanders during the Trials, further connecting the phrase to the University.
For freshmen Matt Regan, the phrase also has great meaning.
“I’ve been coming to track meets at Hayward Field for over six years now and every meet I attend is always spectacular,” Regan said. “Hayward Field has a distinct, unexplainable aura about it.”
The registration will give the University allowance to use the trademark in commerce, but also give it another level of protection.
“We wanted the University and the city of Eugene, while they are in the process of rebuilding the persona of the track program, (the) feel of protection for the brand that they are building around,” Dyste said.
For students like Young, the trademark means more than a shield against others. “When you think back to the history of track and field in Eugene, with figures like Steve Prefontaine and Bill Bowerman, it lends itself to such a lofty title,” Young said. “The passion that the community displays toward the team and its athletes is one-in-a-million.”
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Trademarking Track Town
Daily Emerald
May 27, 2009
Mike Perrault
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