The Auburn Tigers are the intercollegiate athletics teams of Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, competing in the Southeastern Conference. The university’s visual identity is anchored by the interlocking “AU” monogram, a mark that has appeared on football helmets since 1966 and now serves as the primary logo for both athletics and academics.
Design and History
The interlocking AU logo made its debut on Auburn football helmets in 1966. According to David Housel, a former Auburn athletics director and sports information director, the symbol was originally intended solely for the football helmets and was never designed to become an official university logo.[1] Despite that modest origin, the mark grew into the university’s primary logo over the following decades.
For years, Auburn maintained separate academic and athletic identities. The university used a silhouette of Samford Hall’s clock tower for academic purposes while the AU mark represented athletics. In July 2017, Auburn announced it would discontinue the Samford Hall logo and unify the entire university under the interlocking AU mark. Mike Clardy, then assistant vice president for communications and marketing, described the move as “an effort to reinforce Auburn’s brand identity and to avoid confusion among national and international audiences.”[2]
In August 2019, Auburn quietly introduced a slightly modified version of the AU mark. The updated design kept the same framework but removed the negative space between the upper part of the “A” and “U,” and downsized the “U” to match the height of the “A.”[3] The change was first reported by Auburn Undercover and confirmed by the university.[4]
The tweak drew immediate backlash from fans, and by October 2019 Auburn announced it had “temporarily postponed implementation of the AU logo within the new system to allow opportunity for continued dialogue with stakeholders.”[5] Shortly after, Auburn Student Government Association leadership announced the university would not move forward with the new logo at all.[6] The original 1966-era mark remained in use, including on football helmets throughout the 2019 season.[7]
Auburn’s licensing office currently lists the interlocking AU as the university’s primary logo, alongside secondary marks including Tiger Eyes, described as Auburn’s secondary spirit mark, and an official Auburn Tigers copperplate wordmark.[8]
Meaning and Symbolism
Auburn’s official colors are burnt orange and navy blue.[9] The university’s brand center specifies Auburn Blue (PMS 289, HEX #0b2341) and Auburn Orange (PMS 158, HEX #e86100) as the two primary colors anchoring the palette.[10]
Auburn’s brand identity guidelines describe two core visual elements inspired by the arrow within the interlocking AU, stating that “this arrow symbolizes who we are and where we’re going.”[11]
Typography and Design
In connection with the 2019 logo tweak, Auburn was reported to be switching its official font from Copperplate to Sabon, a change first reported by the Auburn Uniform Database.[3] The licensing office’s brand elements page continues to reference an “Auburn Tigers official copperplate word mark” among the university’s standard logos.[8]
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