The Georgetown Hoyas are the athletic teams of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., competing in the Big East Conference. The athletics department’s visual identity is built around two distinct marks: the trademarked Georgetown “G” as the primary logo and the bulldog as the secondary logo, both rendered in the university’s official blue and gray.
Design and History
The Georgetown University Athletics brand identity is described by the department as “steeped in tradition pairing an iconic logo with consistency in visual imagery and assets.”[1] The trademark Georgetown “G” serves as the primary logo of the athletics department, with its preferred use being a blue fill with a gray or white stroke.[1] A separate trademarked “block Georgetown” wordmark is also part of the department’s official identity.[1]
The bulldog mark traces its origins to the arrival of a live English Bulldog mascot named Jack in 1962. Beginning in the mid-1960s, printed football materials began featuring Jack as a visual symbol for Georgetown athletics.[2] The earliest bulldog logos resembled Yale’s bulldog, prompting a new, more distinctive bulldog logo to gain appeal by the early 1970s.[2]
In 1984, Georgetown officials applied for trademark protection on the bulldog mascot. This involved a slight redesign, as both Georgetown and the University of Georgia shared nearly identical bulldog logos and neither school had a preemptive right on the design.[2] By 1989, merchandise with the new Georgetown logo outsold Alabama, Michigan, and every other college logo in the nation.[2] Variations of the Jack the Bulldog logo began to appear, and a move to redesign the dog began in the late 1990s.[2]
According to the athletics department’s official branding materials, the primary logo is the Georgetown “G” (blue fill, gray trim) and the secondary logo is the bulldog.[3]
Meaning and Symbolism
The nickname “Hoyas” derives from the student cheer “Hoya Saxa,” which translates to “What Rocks.” The name proved popular and the term “Hoyas” was eventually adopted for all Georgetown teams.[4]
The bulldog mascot, Jack, was formally adopted in 1962 as an English Bulldog, adding the blue and gray cap once worn by freshmen onto its emblem.[4] By 1979, Georgetown was among the first schools to employ a “human mascot,” a student in the now familiar blue and gray bulldog suit.[4]
The university’s official colors, Georgetown Blue and Georgetown Gray, date back to the aftermath of the Civil War and were adopted to signify the union of students from the North and South.[5] The athletics department lists its official Pantone colors as 282 (blue) and 401 (gray).[3]
Typography and Design
For the university’s broader visual identity, Adobe Caslon is the official typeface. The Caslon typeface dates back to the 18th century and was used in the founding documents of the country and John Carroll’s proposal to establish the university.[5] Neue Helvetica serves as the secondary typeface.[5]
The athletics department’s brand guidelines state that the Georgetown “G” logos are intended to be used as standalone marks and should not be altered in any way, including the fill of the G or anything placed behind, in front, or above the logo.[1]
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