On October 3, 2017, North Texas director of athletics, Wren Baker, publically threated cease and desist letters to ESPN and Michigan State Athletics on ESPN’s use of North Texas’ trademarked term “Mean Green” in a promo for the weekend’s football game against Michigan.
Supporters of Wren’s efforts also cited tweets from 2016 when Michigan State Basketball wore Nike Hyper Elite Disruption alternate jerseys against Maryland, which were dubbed “Mean Green.”
The trademark issue between North Texas, ESPN and Michigan State Athletics was resolved within 24 hours, after making headlines and giving North Texas quite a bit of publicity.
Trademark: “Mean Green” is trademarked by the University of North Texas
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