The Colorado Buffaloes are the intercollegiate athletic teams of the University of Colorado Boulder. The program’s visual identity centers on a charging buffalo mark with interlocking “CU” letters, a design that has remained largely consistent since it was officially registered as the primary mark in 1981 and refined in 2005.
Design and History
The university officially adopted “Buffaloes” as its nickname and mascot in 1934, following a contest sponsored by the Silver & Gold newspaper. Boulder resident Andrew Dickson submitted the winning entry, earning a $5 prize. The American bison quickly became the primary symbol of CU-Boulder’s athletic teams.[1]
Before the 1980s, Colorado did not have a single standard mark. Logos often changed annually or by season, depending on the artwork used for media guides and game programs.[2] In the summer of 1981, the charging buffalo with interlocking “CU” was officially registered as the program’s primary mark.[2]
On May 10, 2005, Colorado made the first change of any kind to the logo in a quarter century. The buffalo was slightly tilted to the right to give it an “in-motion” appearance, and the interlocked letters were altered for a cleaner look. Nike and CU worked together on the changes, with Nike design director Chris McClure updating the buffalo logo.[2] The project began 18 months earlier with the goal of getting all CU sports teams under the same umbrella in terms of logo and uniform lettering.[3] The school’s approach was summarized with the phrase “Respect the past, represent the future,” as it did not want a radical change from the old logo.[3]
McClure said the Ralphie logo was among the most recognized college athletics symbols in the country and that he did not want to tamper too much with the already strong symbol.[4] The current athletics logo, which includes both the buffalo and the interlocking letters “CU,” was updated in 2005 with the help of designers at Nike.[1]
Meaning and Symbolism
The buffalo mascot honors the American bison, once ubiquitous in the western United States, which became the primary symbol of CU-Boulder’s athletic teams.[1] The live buffalo mascot, Ralphie, made its first appearance at all home football games during the 1966 season, and the tradition of the team taking the field behind a charging buffalo began on October 28, 1967.[2]
The official CU Boulder colors are CU Gold, Black, CU Light Gray and CU Dark Gray. CU Gold is specified as Pantone 4525 C with hex code #CFB87C.[5]
Typography and Design
The primary brand typeface for CU Boulder is Helvetica Neue, used in all weights and styles as a display face in official communications and print collateral. Helvetica Neue Condensed and Regular are the primary CU Boulder fonts.[5]
In 2005, CU licensing director Bruce Fletcher coordinated accompanying fonts for the first time as part of the logo update.[2]
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