Well the former ones just sorted floated around. Sometimes you'd see it on some merchandise. It was rarely used by the university with any direction in mind.
You can like or dislike the new logo, but the university is actually trying to establish it as a compliment to the Diamond F.
It's being used in ways none of the other secondary marks really ever were (including on the basketball court). As good as the F logo is, you can definitely overuse it if it adorned every single thing related to Furman.