IOWA CITY, Iowa (U-WIRE) -- It appears there is a new "Herky on Parade." But this one is apparently not being endorsed by the University of Iowa athletics department.

The University of Southern Mississippi introduced a new version of its Golden Eagle in January 2003 as part of a marketing campaign.

Steve Parrott, the UI director of University Relations, says the Southern school's new logo looks a little too much like Iowa's Tigerhawk. "We feel the logos are too similar. Iowa has had the Tigerhawk since 1979. They just got theirs," Parrott said. "We've contacted them and asked them to change it."

But officials at Southern Miss, located in Hattiesburg, Miss., do not see a resemblance between the logos and are resisting any change to their Golden Eagle.

"If you put [the logos] side by side, there's a world of a difference," Southern Miss Athletics Director Richard Giannini said. "The only thing in common is the bird head and our colors. Ours is more stylistic and realistic. Theirs looks like a stencil."

Because of the incident, Giannini now has concerns about the Southern Miss men's basketball team -- now coached by former Iowa State University men's basketball coach Larry Eustachy -- playing Iowa in the Gazette-Hawkeye Challenge in December.

"The stance that Iowa has taken on this logo thing really concerns me. I'd hate to consider calling it off, but I have concerns about playing in its tournament after all this," Giannini said. "If it is saying it's so confusing, then let's just not play."

UI Athletics Director Bob Bowlsby said Southern Miss is still under contract to play in the tournament. "I assume it will have to fulfill it, but it seems that not everyone does these days," he said.

Bowlsby said the UI has trademarked its logos to protect against cases of infringement. He called the Tigerhawk "one of the most recognizable logos in all of college sports."

Southern Miss attorney Lee Gore said the UI had contacted his school and that negotiations about the logo are in the preliminary stages, according to the Associated Press.

UI General Counsel Mark Schantz said the university was prompted to explore similarities between the two schools' logos through an e-mail the university received "a few weeks back by an individual with some history at the UI." Schantz said the individual had requested anonymity.

Soon after learning about the new Golden Eagle logo, Schantz's office sent Southern Miss a letter complaining about the similarity between the Tigerhawk and Golden Eagle. Negotiations between the schools will continue in hopes of reaching an agreement before the December basketball tournament.

Schantz said that the legal precedent for the UI's complaint was based on "evidence of potential confusion" between the two logos. "The schools' colors are both black and gold, we both have a bird as a mascot, and their new logo looks very similar to our Tigerhawk," Schantz said. "It is understandable that there might be confusion."

Schantz said he was unsure of the options available to Southern Miss but said it would probably have to find a new logo.

"If we don't protect [the Tigerhawk], we might lose it. That logo is worth a lot of money - as evidenced by the success of the Herkys on Parade," he said. "The university is not long on money, so no one's eager for litigation. But it could come to that."

(C) 2004 The Daily Iowan via U-WIRE.