Minnesota State Moorhead, located in Moorhead, Minnesota, fields its NCAA Division II athletic teams as the Dragons, competing in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).[1] The university’s official athletics colors are red and white.[1]
Design and History
The Dragon nickname dates to February 9, 1930, when Old Main, the primary building on campus, burned to the ground. Flora Frick, a professor of athletics and German, is credited with naming the teams the Dragons after witnessing Moorhead State football players evacuating their locker room in the basement of Old Main, winding single file down the front steps backlit by smoke and fire.[2] The university’s own history page describes the dragon symbol as emerging from the ashes of the fire.[3]
In 1987, graphic design student Haley Johnson designed the fire-breathing dragon logo that the school still uses today.[4] The dragon logo is managed separately from the university’s academic mark. The university’s brand standards page directs questions about using the Dragon (Athletics) logo to the associate athletic director for external relations.[5]
In 2011, the university introduced a new visual identity system as part of a larger branding initiative led by the MSUM Marketing team. The new system included an academic wordmark that complemented the existing Dragon logo.[6]
In 2025, the university updated its primary logo to a one-color, red mark, with all-black and all-white versions also permitted.[5] The new single-color logo replaced the previous two-tone red and gray M with flame design.[7] The university also announced it now prefers to be known as “Minnesota State Moorhead” rather than MSUM.[7] The new logo was implemented on July 1, 2025.[8]
Meaning and Symbolism
The Dragon identity traces directly to the 1930 Old Main fire, with the symbol representing rebirth from that tragedy.[3] The university’s mascot, Scorch, is a large red dragon costume that appears at roughly 100 events per year.[4]
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