The Miami Hurricanes, the athletic program of the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, are identified above all by the split-U mark: a single letterform divided vertically into orange and green halves. The mark has been the program’s primary logo since 1973 and was adopted as the university’s official institutional mark in 2009. [1]
Design and History
The split-U originated in 1973, when the University of Miami’s Athletic Federation, the fundraising arm of the athletic department at the time, commissioned a local public relations expert to develop a distinctive logo. The university had gone through several years of helmet and uniform changes, and the Federation noted that many major colleges shared the initials UM. Miami designer Bill Bodenhamer suggested the U idea, which lent itself to slogans like “U gotta believe.” [1] Miami-bred publicist Julian Cole worked with graphic artist Bill Bodenhamer to develop the green and orange split-U logo. [2]
The mark was nearly replaced in 1979, when then-university president Henry King Stanford asked art professor Peter Zorn to design a different logo. Zorn spent a summer working with a group of students, and the resulting symbol, which resembled a stylized fish hook, appeared on university stationery. Students organized a “Save the U” campaign, flooding campus walls with flyers, and the administration took notice. By 1981, new president Edward “Tad” Foote reinstated the U. [3]
In 2009, the University of Miami launched a new visual identity program that incorporated the split-U as a symbol for the entire institution, replacing the previous University of Miami “bar” logo on all new marketing materials. The change followed research with focus groups in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York, plus an alumni survey, in which the mark was perceived as “diverse, modern, confident, and bold.” [4] The university adopted the split-U athletics mark as its official institutional mark in 2009. [5]
In 2024, the athletic department unveiled a modernized version of its vintage Sebastian the Ibis mascot logo. The update placed a script “Hurricanes” wordmark on the sailor hat and the split-U on Sebastian’s sweater, which fits better around the anthropomorphic hands. [6]
Meaning and Symbolism
The athletic department was looking for something that would symbolize the University of Miami without having to say those words. The letters UM were not enough because they could have represented many other schools. [2] In the middle of the U, different images for each sport were inserted, like a baseball player, football player, or tennis player. [2]
The U has also become a hand gesture. The practice of throwing up the U originated in 1992 when former cheerleader Bill Tigano flashed the hand motion during a home football game against Florida State University. [5]
Typography and Design
The official University of Miami colors are orange (Pantone 158) and green (Pantone 3435). Hexadecimal colors for digital media are orange (#f47321) and green (#005030). [7] The split-U logo features orange in the left half and green in the right half. [8]
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