The University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks logo is the athletic identity mark adopted in 2016, replacing the retired Fighting Sioux imagery. The primary mark features a hawk head icon set within a green “ND” ligature, accompanied by a “North Dakota Fighting Hawks” wordmark.
Design and History
The Fighting Hawks nickname was selected in November 2015 through a campus and community vote. The first ballot offered five finalists chosen by a committee: Fighting Hawks, Roughriders, Nodaks, Sundogs and North Stars. A runoff vote between Fighting Hawks and Roughriders followed, with 27,378 votes cast by people with UND ties, including students, staff and alumni.[1]
The University of North Dakota unveiled the Fighting Hawks logo and wordmark on June 22, 2016, about four years after the school dropped its Fighting Sioux moniker.[2] New York-based SME Branding created the identity after several months of work, at a cost of $49,500.[3] The agency spent time on campus and on the phone listening to students, student-athletes, coaches, faculty, staff, alumni, community members and representatives of UND’s American Indian programs before developing the design.[4]
The logo depicts a white hawk head with black shading and a black eye, atop the angular letters “ND” in green.[2] The final decision was made by President Ed Schafer, based on his own experience in marketing and design, input from stakeholder groups, and the recommendation of SME Branding.[4]
UND’s school colors remained unchanged after the rebrand. The interlocking ND athletics logo continued through the following academic year before being moved to the Dacotah Legacy Collection, which also retains historic nickname and logo trademarks.[4][5]
Meaning and Symbolism
The primary logo features a “stoic hawk head icon emphasized by a resolute hawk eye to personify the persistence, hard work and determination of UND student-athletes.” The icon rests within an “ND” ligature to place UND Athletics at the heart of North Dakota.[4]
SME Branding’s research with UND constituencies informed the design direction, resulting in what the university described as a “future-forward, resolute and determined hawk that is unique to North Dakota.”[4]
Typography and Design
The wordmark suite was constructed “in a manner that is streamlined and expressive to reflect the power and speed of UND student-athletes.” The serifed “N” and the angular cuts of the font are inspired by the wings of a soaring hawk.[4]
When asked why the new logo used fewer colors than the previous Fighting Sioux mark, UND explained that logos tend to be simpler due to the need for reproduction from very large scale down to very small thumbnail size. The previous logo was originally designed as a piece of art and required modifications for reproduction. The new Fighting Hawks logo was designed to allow for high quality and consistent reproduction across all applications.[4]
The Fighting Hawks mascot mark is distinct from the primary athletics logo. Per UND’s brand guidelines, the mascot is used to promote school spirit and is not a substitute for official UND logos. The primary Fighting Hawks mark is reserved for Athletics and directly affiliated groups.[5]
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