It’s still in the embryonic stage, but the University of Massachusetts Athletic Department is considering replacing the Minutemen as the school’s athletic nickname with a more marketable moniker; the Gray Wolves.

With merchandising and recognition in mind, UMass employed the services of Phoenix Design, a company that has overseen the designs and redesigns of teams at the professional and college level.

According to Athletic Director Ian McCaw, simply revamping the Minuteman logos remains an option.

“They evaluate the current logo, do some research and make recommendations,” McCaw told The Daily Hampshire Gazette. “They developed several Minuteman variations and made some other recommendations beyond that.”

Representatives from Phoenix then took their new designs for the Minuteman and Gray Wolves to a series of focus groups that included students, athletes, coaches, staff and alumni.

Because the members of the focus groups were asked not to discuss the meetings, all interviewed sources wished to remain confidential.

One member of the athlete’s group said that the only options the two Phoenix reps presented were the Gray Wolves and the Minutemen.

“They were kind of pushing the Wolves,” the member said. “They want to change the Minutemen, OK. But give us some other options.”

The Phoenix representatives’ logic behind the Wolves was that it’s not a gender specific nickname like the Minutemen.

Witnesses say that most of the young women in the focus groups agreed that they didn’t feel represented by the Minuteman and wouldn’t wear apparel with Minutemen on it.

According to another student athlete, most but not the entire group of about 15 agreed that a change was needed.

Though some argued that the Minuteman is a symbol of the state and that UMass, as a state school, should have a nickname that is representative of Massachusetts and its history.

The counter argument is that the Gray Wolf is an animal indigenous to the Bay State.

“I’ve never seen one,” one focus group member said. “If they’re around I don’t know where they are.”

Numerous witnesses remarked that the Gray Wolves logo looked strikingly similar to that of Northeastern’s and Connecticut’s Husky.

Another student athlete said the Phoenix representatives claimed they presented the same logos to a focus group of children (reported as ages 7-12) and another group of older alumni.

Apparently, the reaction to the Gray Wolves was positive from the youngsters and negative from the older alumni.

Nothing is set in stone, but McCaw said he hopes to have a resolution to the question by the end of May.

“In the final analysis, once they go through the focus groups, they’ll present some recommendations to me,” McCaw told The Gazette. “I’ll run it by the Chancellor [John] Lombardi.”

Beyond the focus groups, McCaw has yet to receive any kind of reaction from the student body and insists changes will have to be made if there is strong resistance.

“Right now we’re just testing the waters,” McCaw told The Gazette. “Whatever you come up with, if people don’t embrace it, you have to change some things.”

This is not the first time UMass has considered this type of change. If the Gray Wolves move goes through, it would be the fourth nickname in school history.

Up until 1947 the school was known as Massachusetts Agricultural College and used the Aggies nickname.

In 1948, a year after it became the University of Massachusetts, the moniker was changed to the Redmen.

In 1972, the school’s teams became the Minutemen because of the racist nature of Redmen.