TULSA, Okla. -- Tulsa's Union High School is dropping the "U" logo from its football helmets, sports uniforms and school sportswear at the request of the University of Miami.

The university asked Union to remove the emblem because it is nearly identical to the trademarked "U" that adorns the Hurricanes' helmets, Union officials said.

Union has agreed not to use the logo on any new merchandise and is working with the university on a timetable for phasing the emblem off current uniforms and memorabilia. The emblem will be used for the rest of the year.

"We understand," Union spokesman Gretchen Haas-Bethell said. "It's a trademark and it's their signature. We just thought we could use it within the state."

The university was closed Tuesday, and athletics department officials, in Tempe, Ariz., for the Hurricanes' Tostitos Fiesta Bowl game against Ohio State, did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Union has been using the emblem since 1992, first on football helmets and then on other athletic uniforms. Over time, it has become the school district's symbol.

The district trademarked the emblem with the Oklahoma secretary of state's office in 2000 because local youth sports teams unaffiliated with the school had been using it.

Miami has registered its logo, in use since 1973, with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Union marketing director Benny Dixon said he and football coach Bill Blankenship knew it looked like Miami's logo when they decided to put it on the school's helmets.

"We liked the font of the U and since the colors were so different we thought, 'this isn't Miami,' " Dixon said.

Miami's "U" is half orange and half green, while Union's has been white, red, gray or black over the years.