Here's the current helmet. The main problem with this design is that the letters in "Southern Miss" tend to bleed together and become unreadable at even short distances.
TV viewers must wait for a close-up to know who they're watching. Which leads to a suggestion...
Golden wings for Golden Eagles. An icon or image is almost always better for defining an indentity than text, and these literal golden wings will be visible from the last row of the upper deck.