UFL Tisdale

5 Reasons to Brand Colorado GOLD! 1) The Gold Story Starts on Pikes Peak, Not in Denver 2) Fits Olympic City USA Without a Trademark Problem 3) The Name Works as Football Branding 4) Already Proven Gold as a Spring Football Name 5) Sells the State While Still Belonging to CO Springs The United Football League announced on September 23, 2026, that professional spring football is coming to Colorado Springs in 2027. The team will play at Weidner Field, and the official name will be released on October 25. League leadership said the brand should represent Colorado’s landscape, Olympic City USA, and the region’s military presence. The purpose of this paper is to argue that the franchise should be branded Colorado Gold. Reason 1: The Gold Story Starts on Pikes Peak, Not in Denver Most people hear Colorado and gold and think of Denver. That is only part of the history. The last and greatest gold camp in the state was Cripple Creek, on the southwest shoulder of Pikes Peak, about 45 minutes from Colorado Springs. The gold on the State Capitol dome came from that district. Spencer Penrose’s C.O.D. Mine fortune helped build The Broadmoor. Furthermore, the 1858-1859 boom was advertised as the Pikes Peak Gold Rush. I believe this gives a Springs-based team a legitimate claim to Colorado Gold. It does not have to mean a Denver leftover. It can mean the metal that came out of this mountain. Reason 2: It Fits Olympic City USA Without a Trademark Problem Colorado Springs is Olympic City USA because the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, the training center, and more than two dozen national governing bodies are based here. Athletes come to this altitude for one result: gold. A football team cannot call itself the Olympians. That language is protected, and it does not sound like football. Colorado Gold points to the prize without using a protected word. “Go Gold” is already a phrase people understand. Additionally, it is a statewide word, which matters if the team is going to sell tickets beyond El Paso County. Reason 3: The Name Works as Football Branding The names that last are short, easy to chant, and easy to put on a helmet. Gold is one syllable. The chant is already written. The name is also not an animal, which matters in this market. The Air Force Academy is already the Falcons. UCCS is already the Mountain Lions. The Switchbacks already use a mountain goat. Another animal would add confusion. Furthermore, Weidner Field sits at 6,035 feet and will be the highest home field in professional football. Navy and gold or black and gold in that stadium is a product people will buy. I believe that is a practical branding issue, not just a creative one. Reason 4: Colorado Has Already Proven Gold as a Spring Football Name The original USFL fielded the Denver Gold from 1983 to 1985. The nickname was chosen because of the Pikes Peak gold rush, and the team led the league in attendance in its first season. The current UFL comes out of that same spring football system. Using Gold in Colorado again is not a new idea. It is a proven idea that was attached to the wrong city. The rush was sold as Pikes Peak. The richest later camp was Cripple Creek. The Olympic training center is in Colorado Springs. I believe Colorado Gold is the correct correction. Reason 5: Colorado Gold Sells the State While Still Belonging to Colorado Springs The league listed the franchise as Colorado, not only as Colorado Springs. A name that only works inside the city limits leaves money on the table in Pueblo, Monument, Falcon, and along the Front Range. Colorado Gold works in those places and on national television. At the same time, the mountain, the mines, the training center, and the military community can all sit under the same mark. Peaks describes the view. Sentinels describes the bases. Colorado Gold describes why people came here and why athletes still come here. Colorado Gold covers the landscape and Olympic City USA directly, and it can support the military identity through color and design. The name is historically accurate if the league tells the Pikes Peak and Cripple Creek story. It is also short, statewide, and available in a market where the best animal names are already taken. If the league takes this name, the palette should stay navy or black with mineral gold, and the launch should state the claim in one sentence: this is the Pikes Peak gold, not a recycled Denver nickname. Done that way, I believe Colorado Gold is the right brand for the team that will take the field at Weidner Field in 2027. Thoughts?