By: Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – It could have been a long-term symbol, this Flying IU logo that — briefly — reflected an Indiana football program on the move. It could have become part of a rich Hoosier tradition that includes Cream & Crimson candy stripes and the IU trident.
That it did not happen makes it a collector’s target, and its creator, Indiana University graduate Mark Bannerman, a link to a three-coaches-in-three-years 1980s’ football era that led to Bill Mallory’s record-setting run, and the answer to this trivia question:
Who designed the Flying IU logo?
Referring to a famous quote attributed to renowned artist Andy Warhol, which Warhol likely never said, Bannerman says with a laugh, “Everybody is famous for 15 minutes. I had about five minutes.”
The spotlight’s return comes courtesy of Bradley Cook, IU archives curator of photographs, whose acquisition of Bannerman’s collection ignited interest.
Bannerman is 40 years removed from his Indiana Daily Student contest winning Flying IU logo design, endorsed by then coach Sam Wyche and rejected by Mallory. He is a mixed media artist, a retired North Carolina high school arts-and-design teacher and a man with a keen sense of Hoosier history and humor.
“I love Bloomington. I love tailgating. I love everything about IU athletics. I’ve always been a huge Hoosier fan.”
Take his artwork, which is available through Bannerman Art Studio.
“My subject matter goes from saltwater fish to roosters to cows. I put mirrors and all kinds of stuff into it. As someone once said, I do a lot of things from the barnyard.”
Flash back to the fall of 1983. It was an era of big hair for women, short athletic shorts for guys, puffy shoulders for women’s clothing, and Hoosier football possibilities.
Several months earlier, IU had fired long-time coach Lee Corso and hired Wyche, the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers’ passing-game coordinator who had a 1981 Super Bowl title on his resume.
It was a flashy hire given Wyche’s dynamic offensive reputation, but it came with risk — Wyche had NFL head-coaching aspirations. He almost certainly wasn’t long for the college game, although no one knew it would be less than a year.
Still, Hoosier officials took their shot, and Wyche, whose nicknames included “Wicky Wacky Wyche” for his are-you-kidding-me play-calling and innovative offense, had plans for an exciting style of play. His push for a new image included changing the look of the helmet, the uniform, the Memorial Stadium end zones, and murals in the Memorial Stadium press box and on the sides of the stadium.
Finding that look resulted in the Give-IU-A-New-Helmet contest.
Bannerman jumped at the opportunity.
He had graduated from IU in 1980 with a degree in design. He was a full-time graphic designer for Sunrise Publications in Bloomington who also did freelance work, which included design work for the Little 500 in the late 1970s. His winning football design featured an italic interlocking I and U symbol with a tail coming off the back to give it a sense of going forward.
For the record, Bannerman did not name it the Flying IU, and still doesn’t know who did.
Indiana’s school colors are cream and crimson, but because of a previous contract, it had to use red instead of crimson.
Bannerman wasn’t a fan.
“We had to keep the red helmets. It was pretty ugly.”
Bannerman didn’t get any money for the winning design, but he did get a helmet. The presentation was set for halftime of the season opener against Duke. Wyche and a manager would give it to him at midfield. Bannerman received tickets on the visitors’ side of Memorial Stadium, but security initially wouldn’t let him on the field. By the time he talked his way on, Wyche had left for the locker room to coach his team
“I was running on the field yelling, ‘Wait a minute,’ but it was too late,” Bannerman said. “Wyche had to leave, so the manager gave me the helmet. It was anti-climactic, but we laughed about it afterward.”
The Hoosiers went 3-8 in Wyche’s only season. He left to become the head coach of the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals and eventually led them to the Super Bowl. IU replaced him with Mallory, a no-nonsense coach who had no use for flashy styles.
“Mallory came in and right away said no, I don’t like any of this (logo) stuff,” Bannerman says. “Get rid of it.”
So the Hoosiers did.
“Initially I was sad to see it go,” Bannerman says, “but I understood.”
The result was a limited supply that has made the logo a more valuable collector’s item.
“As Bradley said, the work is so collectable,” Bannerman says. “Yeah, it came and went, but it’s still kind of cool.”
Coolness includes Bannerman’s strong Cream & Crimson connections.
His father, Robert LeRoy Bannerman, was a long-time IU telecommunications professor in radio and television. He lived a mile from campus in a house the younger Bannerman still owns, although he now lives in North Carolina.
After the elder Bannerman passed away at age 97 in 2018, the son attended a garage sale that included Cook, who overheard Mark talk about his father.
Cook told Mark he was interested in his father’s collection and eventually acquired radio production scripts, photos, reel-to-reel sets, and more.
Cook also asked if there was anything else, and that led to his acquiring Bannerman’s flying IU helmet, sketches, photos, and more.
“My father said he always wanted to be remembered. I was so happy to find Bradley. And to have the flying IU be remembered after all these years is very special.”
