Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners is the athletics identity of California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB), whose teams compete in NCAA Division I as members of The Big West Conference. The university’s athletics visual identity is built around a Roadrunner mascot head mark, supported by a system of secondary logos and wordmarks. The official athletics colors are blue and gold, specified as Pantone 661 and Pantone 123.[1]
Design and History
The Roadrunner became CSUB’s official mascot in November 1970, when students selected it from 34 options, with the Rowdy name winning the vote 368 to 15.[2] The idea for the Roadrunner mascot came from a group in Buttonwillow, according to former CSUB Athletic Director Rudy Carvajal.[3]
As CSUB began its transition to NCAA Division I from Division II in 2006, the athletics program rebranded with help from Phoenix Design Works, a New Jersey-based design company. The new brand included a new roadrunner design and typeface.[4] In 2014, Phoenix Design Works was again instrumental in designing new marks for the “We’re All ‘Runners” campaign, including a hand logo and a slimmed-down center court logo featuring the head of the Roadrunner for the Icardo Center’s blue court redesign.[5]
In late 2019, CSUB slightly changed its blue and gold colors, and the width of the head logo was shortened.[6] The current athletics system, as documented in the university’s visual identity guide, includes a Mascot Head Logo, a Specific Mascot Head Logo, a “B” Logo, a Roadrunner Club Logo, and Primary Block and Script Lockups.[1]
CSUB officially joined The Big West on July 1, 2020, completing a 15-year effort to enter the conference.[7] The university also unveiled a new university-wide brand in October 2021, featuring a shield logo with a rising sun over a field, but Rowdy the Roadrunner remained the university’s mascot and blue and gold remained the colors.[8][9]
Meaning and Symbolism
The Roadrunner head serves as the principal athletics mark, distinguishing athletics communications from other university materials.[1] The university’s broader 2021 brand logo depicts a shield featuring a sun rising over a field, representing the growth of the university and the fertile lands of Kern County and the San Joaquin Valley.[8] Rowdy the Roadrunner serves as the named mascot character used in athletics and campus communications.[2]
Typography and Design
The official athletics guide specifies VTF Redzone as the primary display font, Open Sans Regular and Bold for stationery text, and Clever Couple as an accent script.[1] Public sources reviewed do not identify a specific designer for the current primary athletics mascot mark. A CSUB news article documents that alumna Shannon LaBare designed the university’s 50th anniversary logo, commissioning local illustrator Dorian Avila for the mascot illustration, but that commemorative project is separate from the current primary athletics mark.[10]
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