Uhh...Kool-aid drinking I see. B is what the AD said when we made the change.
I-State is more recognizable to the casual fan than a red cardinal with a tornado attached to his bottom? Considering we are the only Cyclones, and the only one who has a Cardinal as a mascot, I'm going to go ahead and say that's more unique than an I (could be Illinois, Iowa, Idaho, Indiana) State which was essentially a rip off of Arkansas States AState.
I'm pretty sure Louisville will disagree with this. And speaking of Illinois State, aren't they the Red Birds? Ever heard of the Stanford Cardinal? - not the bird, strictly speaking, but still confusing to a casual fan. So, no, the cardinal is NOT unique.
They're lots of "X-State" logos, but Iowa State,while incorporating the A in State to line up with the I defines it as Iowa - since IA is the official abbreviation for Iowa.
And of all the other I-State schools you mention, Iowa State is the only one in the big leagues, so we should be able to claim the moniker - unlike OSU (Oklahoma, Ohio, and Oregon) who have to fight it out in the major conferences.
Lastly, Iowa is pronounced with the long I. So I-State works well with that. Illinois and Indiana both are pronounced with the short I sound, so it doesn't fit the I-State logo as well phonetically. Yeah, you have a point on Idaho State, but really, when is the last time anyone considered Idaho State significant in any collegiate sports?