Xavier offers to rebrand middle school following Cincinnati's cease-and-desist for 'Bearcats' nickname

In the spirit of rivalry week, how about the folks from the 513 adding some juice to the Crosstown Shootout? Cincinnati hates Xavier and Xavier hates Cincinnati, we know this. It’s one of the best and most bitter rivalries in the country with the two schools separated by three miles physically and millions of miles in love for one another.

That’s what makes one story out of Tennessee of all places so awesome.

Cheatham Middle School out of Ashland City, TN allegedly received a cease-and-desist letter from the University of Cincinnati for its use of the school’s nickname and logo. Cheatham can “no longer use or refer to themselves as the ‘Bearcats'” and have “been left with no reasonable choice but to rebrand and choose a new (mascot).”

“We appreciate Cheatham Middle School’s interest in using UC’s iconic trademarks, which are recognized both nationally and globally. But CMS never requested permission to do so,” UC said in a statement to WCPO-TV out of Cincinnati. “Just as many other universities and recognizable brands make significant investment to protect their own marks, we reserve the right for exclusive use of the UC marks. We understand this may cause some inconveniences, but we have a responsibility to preserve and protect the University’s rights to its marks.”

Sucks for Cheatham, right? Well, what if I told you a marketing company run by a Xavier grad is offering a completely free rebrand for Cheatham Middle School if they agree to go by the Musketeers moving forward.

“If Cheatham agrees to choose the ‘Musketeers’ as their new mascot, Synergistic will contribute to the transition from ‘Bearcats’ with an all-new ‘Cheatham Musketeers’ Mascot design, logo, and other marketing support toward the rebranding process — gratis,” the release says.

The Cheatham Musketeers has a nice ring to it! All For One, One For All! #ALLIN pic.twitter.com/Ex2ylBjogT

— Anthony Breen (@BreenAnthony77) November 22, 2024

It doesn’t end there, either. One of Xavier’s NIL affiliates, Musketeer Gear, is currently selling “Cheatham Musketeers” shirts with all proceeds going to Cheatham Middle School.

Cheatham Middle School has to do it, right? If Cincinnati is going to be petty about the Bearcats, why not go all in with Xavier and the Musketeers?