The Drexel Dragons are the varsity athletics teams of Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The university’s teams adopted the Dragons nickname in 1928, and the dragon has served as the institution’s athletic symbol ever since. Drexel’s teams compete in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), which was formerly known as the Colonial Athletic Association before the conference’s 2023 name change. [1]
Design and History
Before becoming the Dragons in 1928, Drexel’s athletic teams were known as “The Engineers,” a name that did not represent the non-engineering students on the teams. An April 16, 1928 article in The Triangle, Drexel’s student newspaper, announced the change: “Due to the fact that both the Engineering and Business Administration Schools are being represented on the various athletic teams of Drexel, it has been decided to call or nickname these teams, ‘The Dragons.'” [2] The dragon was chosen primarily for alliteration, as the “Drexel Dragons” name was considered more spirited and intimidating than “Drexel Engineers.” [2]
For many years, Drexel used a walking dragon with smoke blowing from its nostrils, wearing a sweater with a stylized “D,” as its primary athletics logo. [3] In 1999, the school underwent an extensive rebranding that introduced a fire-breathing dragon logo in blue, gold, and red. [4] The primary version of this mark featured the dragon above a “DREXEL DRAGONS” wordmark in custom type. [5]
The current primary logo, in use since 2012, retains the fire-breathing dragon over the “DREXEL DRAGONS” wordmark, though both the dragon and lettering were redrawn and the shades of blue and gold were updated. [6] The 2012 update also introduced a more vibrant color treatment for the mark. [4]
Longtime athletics director Eric Zillmer, who served from 1998 to 2021, was described as instrumental in the creation of the Drexel athletics logo during his tenure. [7] No external design agency has been publicly credited for the mark.
Meaning and Symbolism
The dragon icon is described by Drexel as “the imprimatur of Drexel University,” serving as the institution’s primary graphic identifier across both academic and athletic applications. [8] The dragon was first used for athletics in 1928 and was chosen primarily for the alliteration of “Drexel Dragons.” [9]
The university’s official colors are navy blue and gold. For digital media, the approved primary color values are Drexel Blue (#07294D) and Drexel Gold (#FFC600). [10] The dragon icon is restricted to appearing only in the official Drexel colors of blue or gold, black, or white. [8]
Typography and Design
The Drexel University logo consists of the university dragon icon combined with a formal wordmark. [11] The university’s graphic identity program specifies that the logo always appears in the Minion and Univers typefaces and is not to be replicated using any other fonts. [12] The athletics wordmark uses a custom letterform distinct from the university’s formal wordmark. [13]
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