The University of the Incarnate Word Cardinals are the athletic teams of the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) in San Antonio, Texas. The university’s athletics identity is built around the Cardinal Head logo, a trademark-by-usage mark that must always face right and cannot be altered in shape or proportion.[1] The athletics identity system is separate from UIW’s institutional marks and is reserved exclusively for athletic entities.[2]
Design and History
The Cardinals nickname dates to May 2004, when UIW retired the Crusader mascot after more than 20 years of use. The change was driven by the university’s growing international and interfaith student body, as the Crusader image carried historical ties to religious conflict. More than 4,000 alumni, students, faculty and staff voted in an online poll of 46 options, with the Cardinals emerging as one of four finalists. University leadership chose the bird because it represented the ideal that a college education can make dreams take flight.[3]
Red and black were adopted as the official UIW school colors at the same time the Cardinal became mascot in 2004.[4] The university’s current official color palette is red, black, white and grey.[5]
The current primary athletic mark, a side view of a cardinal’s head, has been in use since 2011.[6] The university’s graphic standards specify that the Cardinal Head logo must include the trademark-by-usage ™ symbol on the bottom right, and that the cardinal should always face right.[1]
Meaning and Symbolism
The Cardinal mascot represents the university’s stated ideal that “through a college education all of your dreams can take flight.”[4] The mascot, named Red the Cardinal, wears the number 81 on his jersey, symbolizing the university’s founding year of 1881.[7]
In late 2018, UIW adopted a special camouflage version of the Cardinal logo for military appreciation games and events, showing support for the university’s military community. Use of these military appreciation logos is strictly limited to the Office of Military and Veterans Affairs and may not be used for athletics or general branding purposes.[8][2]
Typography and Design
The athletics identity system consists of the Cardinal branded logos and word logos set in a typeface the university calls “September.” These athletic marks should only be associated with athletic entities and never used for academic or administrative content.[2]
UIW’s graphic standards require that logos printed in a single color use only black or red, and that official logos never be redrawn, re-proportioned, distorted or modified.[1]
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