Kentucky State University’s athletic teams, the Thorobreds and Thorobrettes, compete in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) at the NCAA Division II level. The university’s athletics department officially lists the school colors as dark green and gold, and the nickname as Thorobreds.[1]
Design and History
The Thorobreds identity is built around horse imagery, a direct reference to Kentucky’s thoroughbred horse racing heritage. The university’s athletics branding is governed by the institution’s broader graphic standards, which require all internal and external entities to follow university branding standards and prohibit the creation of independent brand identities or logos.[2]
Kentucky State’s official graphic standards manual identifies the approved coated brand identity colors as PMS 349 C green and PMS 803 C yellow.[3] The athletics department’s quick facts page describes the school colors as dark green and gold.[1]
Wikimedia Commons hosts two files in its Kentucky State University athletics logos category: a square logo file and a wider horizontal version, both depicting the Thorobreds mark.[4] The university’s athletics website, ksuthorobreds.com, serves as the official home for the Thorobreds and Thorobrettes brand.[5]
Meaning and Symbolism
The Thorobreds nickname connects Kentucky State to the state’s thoroughbred horse racing tradition. The deliberate spelling of “Thorobred” (rather than “Thoroughbred”) is a distinctive feature of the university’s athletic identity. The university’s yearbook has historically carried the Thorobred name, with references to the “Thorobred Yearbook” dating back to at least 1960.[6]
Kentucky State was chartered in May 1886 as the State Normal School for Colored Persons, and the institution’s history is documented in university planning materials that trace its evolution to university status in 1972.[7] The horse imagery in the athletics logo reflects the university’s Kentucky location and its connection to the commonwealth’s equine culture.
Typography and Design
Kentucky State’s graphic standards manual governs the reproduction of all university logos, requiring that the logo maintain its proportions and that the size and position of the logotype never be changed, though the logo may be scaled to any percentage.[8] The standards also require that the logo be reproduced in a manner that allows for maximum readability and visibility.[3]
Specific designer attribution for the Thorobreds athletics logo is not publicly documented in available sources. The university’s graphic standards manual notes that the Jackson Hall logo is the official mark for Kentucky State University and is considered a signature for the campus, with athletics branding operating under the same institutional standards.[9]
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