Just months after Emerson Athletics withdrew an embattled logo produced by an external firm, a collegewide vote selected a revised design by the firm, the third option above, as the Lions’ official mark.

The winning logo was the design on the ballot submitted by Phoenix Design Works. Emerson had paid the New Jersey-based company $8,500 over the summer to design the Athletics Department’s first logo, only to retract it after student criticism. This semester, the department solicited student designs and, two weeks ago, brought the contest to an Emerson-wide vote to choose the winner.

Two of the three options on the ballot were labeled as student submissions, and the third was labeled as a revision by Phoenix Design.

“It seems a little strange that after all that, it ended up being the company’s design,” said Julian Rifkind, a senior captain on the baseball team. “But I saw the ballot, and I know they made it clear which ones were which, so I guess the favorite design won.”

The winner was determined this morning, Nov. 5, by the Athletics Department after Emerson votes were tallied. The voting ended on Friday, Oct. 31.

“It was an open and transparent process,” said Pat Nicol, the athletic director. “We felt it could not have been more open, because at the end of the day, everyone in the community is going to own the logo to some regard.”

The committee to find a new logo received over 50 student submissions and narrowed the field down to three in mid-October.

According to Danny Dranoff, a junior marketing communication major and student member of the committee, the online vote received more than 1,600 votes.

“The idea was that we didn’t want to sit behind a desk and try to make a decision,” said Dranoff. “But now that we have a final logo, the people who cheer for the Emerson sports team are part of the pride and part of the family.”

The logo will be put on the center of the basketball court over winter break, according to Nicol, and will be incorporated into every cycle of new uniforms over the next few years.

“This is the start of bringing people together,” said Nicol, “and the start of integrating athletics into the mainstream of student life.”