Weston, Mass.-Regis College Athletics has been making steady upgrades since December 2008 to become more competitive, and on par with similar athletic departments. The first of many unveilings will be the athletic departments newly designed logo. Created by Phoenix Design Works, Regis College will upgrade from its two lions representation to a more regal design.

"It's sharp, and it's simple," said Assistant Director of Athletics Jessica Gould.

The Pride mascot will remain, but the new logo plays more to the origin of the word Regis and its meaning of "kingly," as well as the monarch connotation of the lion being the king of the animal kingdom. The previous logo was illustrated to characterize both female and male student body.

Regis College went co-ed in 2007 after having been an all-women's institution since 1927. "We were in the news for awhile after being co-ed for two years, and now that we have been co-ed for awhile, it's time we made our mark in athletics," Gould said.

Phoenix designed the primary mark under the guidance of an 11-member committee of Regis College representatives. The committee was given a specific directive; the logo must be gender neutral or include both the lioness and lion.

"The process was not to offend anyone," says Gould. "Trying to create a logo that represented the lioness and lion proved to be too difficult."

The use of the lions was to show equality after being co-ed, but its design was rarely used by the athletic department, and was not positively received by the student body.

"It's difficult to see, and hard to tell what it is," said Hsiu Hsiao, a graduate of Regis College. "We have a logo now that everyone can use, male or female," said Gould.

Athletics often used a paw to represent its teams and to be equal to both genders. "So many colleges and universities use the paw," Gould replied. "Changing our logo is going to help brand our athletic department."

One considerable obstacle for the committee to tackle was the perception by the student body. Students were represented on the committee, which also gave varied opinions to the anticipated welcoming of the new logo.

"I like it," said Meghan Robohm, a sophomore field hockey player.

Regis College athletics anticipates using the new logo to promote itself, its student-athletes, and College more than it could with the previous mark.

"It's a tangible sign that things are changing," said swimming and diving head coach Mike Kotch.

In early September the Regis College Athletics Department will release its official athletic Web site, www.GoRegisPride.com. Currently you can follow the department on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GoRegisPride. Later in September the department plans to open its newly constructed outdoor athletic complex.

Which will feature an eight-lane track, synthetic turf field, six tennis courts, and a new softball complex.