U.S. Coast Guard Academy — Wrestling Wall

The U.S. Coast Guard Academy (USCGA), one of five federal service academies in the United States, has trained future Coast Guard leaders at its campus in New London, Connecticut since 1932. The Coast Guard Academy wrestling team, established as part of the school’s athletic program in 1943, has been closely connected with the Academy’s overall mission of developing the Coast Guard’s future leaders.

In the summer of 2023, members of the USCGA Alumni Association sought to replicate the success of Miranda Creative’s mural at Leamy Hall — which honors the history and accomplishments of the Coast Guard Band — by creating a similar tribute to the USCGA wrestling program. Like the Leamy Hall project, they wanted a creative display to illustrate the impact of the team, its coaches, and its lasting legacy.

The USCGA wrestling team uses the motto “SPAR Life,” an acronymnemphasizing the Coast Guard motto “Semper Paratus – Always Ready.” Throughout its history, the program has strived to instill cadets with a mindset of discipline, adaptability, and excellence that complements their academic studies and prepares them for leadership in the Coast Guard.

The USCGA Alumni Association wanted the wrestling wall to pay tribute to the program’s legacy while also serving as a source of education and inspiration to current cadets. Relying on information about the outstanding coaches and athletes of the past, as well as the team’s more recent accomplishments, Miranda Creative’s designers worked to create a graphic display that would embody the grit, honor, and determination of USCGA wrestlers. 

Miranda Creative worked with Camaro Signs to create a dynamic set of 21 wall panels to be displayed on two wall sections near the wrestling team’s practice and conditioning facility. These panels provide an introduction to the USCGA wrestling program and trace a path from its origins to present day. 

We featured highlights from the program’s history that best exemplify its successes in developing character and strengthening leadership qualities. These included wrestlers who went on to become admirals in the Coast Guard and be inducted into the Wrestling Hall of Fame, the nearly five-decade career of head coach Steve Eldridge, and the accomplishments of the more recent 2022 to 2024 seasons.

Each panel features striking graphics that use the USCGA’s traditional blue and orange colors, along with the Academy’s bear mascot and historic photos sourced from the USCGA Tide Rips yearbooks. 

The panels are arranged using a dynamic, layered approach and multiple sizes that create a cohesive mural-like appearance, amplify the energy of the text and graphics, and distinctly show the positive effect the wrestling program has had on individual cadets, the Academy, and the Coast Guard as a whole. 

The modular panels also provide the flexibility sought by the USCGA Alumni Association to update and add to the wrestling wall as the program continues.

Contact us about your visual branding and display projects at engage@mirandacreative.com!