Oklahoma State University’s athletic teams, the Cowboys and Cowgirls, compete under a visual identity built around the interlocking “OSU” brand mark, a design introduced in the 1970s to evoke the western heritage of Oklahoma and the “Cowboys” name by mimicking the design of a traditional cattle brand. The university’s official color is Pantone 021 orange, paired with black and white. The athletic teams have used orange and black as their primary colors since the late 1890s, when Oklahoma A&M College adopted the colors along with the Princeton Tiger mascot. The “Cowboys” nickname came into use by the mid-1920s, replacing the earlier Tigers and Aggies designations. [1] [2] [3]
Design and History
For decades, Oklahoma State used multiple marks simultaneously, including the interlocking OSU brand, the Block O-State, Pistol Pete and the interlocking OS. On July 1, 2019, the university moved to a single primary institutional logo for use across all campuses, colleges, departments and athletic teams. The chosen mark was an updated version of the OSU “brand” logo previously used by athletics. University officials said extensive market research found that mark had the most audience recognition, prominence in the marketplace and was the strongest logo design among all current marks. The 2019 update included slight changes to the trim of the logo. [4] [5]
Despite the consolidation, several athletic-specific marks remained in use. Pistol Pete, the university’s mascot, continued to appear in marketing materials and athletics. The script “Cowboys” and “Cowgirls” wordmarks, the Pistol Pete head logo, the baseball team’s interlocking “OS” and golf’s “Swinging Pete” logo all remained part of the athletic identity after the 2019 brand update. [4] [6]
Earlier in the university’s history, a 2000 logo redesign effort aimed to bring consistency across designs. That project produced logos using the same style of “O” across sports, with some versions using two shades of orange and either “Cowboys” or “Cowgirls” text. [7]
Meaning and Symbolism
The OSU brand mark was designed to evoke the western heritage of Oklahoma and the “Cowboys” name by mimicking the design of a traditional cattle brand. [1]
Pistol Pete, the university’s mascot, traces to Frank B. Eaton, a former U.S. deputy marshal from Perkins, Oklahoma. After Eaton rode at the head of Stillwater’s Armistice Day parade around 1923, students at Oklahoma A&M College approached him about serving as the model for a new mascot, replacing the Princeton Tiger. A likeness was drawn and used on sweatshirts and stickers, and the caricature became the basis for the mascot used today. The cartoon image was officially sanctioned in 1984. [2] [8]
Typography and Design
The university’s official brand guide specifies Gotham Narrow as the primary sans serif typeface and Sentinel as the official serif typeface for institutional communications. [9]
For athletics, the typeface used in the “Cowboys” script wordmark is called Cimarron. It was developed internally by Oklahoma State in 2019 and brings a modern touch to the classic look, replacing a standard block font used in the 1980s design. [10]
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