Saginaw Valley State University, located in University Center, Michigan, fields its NCAA Division II athletic teams under the Cardinals identity. The university’s operations manual designates three official marks: the University seal, the SVSU logo, and the Cardinal. The Cardinal logo serves as the branded identity mark primarily for SVSU Intercollegiate Athletics, used on uniforms, gear, digital media, and athletic marketing and advertising. It also functions as a campus-wide spirit mark for gift items and apparel. [1]
Design and History
The Cardinals identity traces its origins to the university’s early athletic history. In 1969, the first athletic team played its first season as the Saginaw Valley College “Redbirds.” The following season introduced the revamped version: the cardinal. [2] The choice of the cardinal as mascot came in 1970, when Bob Becker and Gene Hamilton spotted a kitchen decoration with a cardinal printed on it at a Kentucky golf tournament and decided to make the cardinal the school’s mascot. [3]
The Cardinal logo was upgraded in 2006, with changes that included facing right instead of left. [2] The university’s operations manual confirms that the Cardinal head must always face to the right in official usage. [1]
SVSU’s University Communications office manages the brand centrally. In 2025, the university reminded its community that the Cardinal logo and other marks are federally protected trademarks and that creating alternate versions or modifying the official logo could jeopardize trademark protection. Approved logos are distributed through the university’s Creative Hub. [4]
Meaning and Symbolism
The Cardinal logo depicts a fanciful head of a cardinal bird. A 2025 trademark filing for the SVSU mark describes it as consisting of bold black wording “SVSU” with a head of a fanciful depiction of a cardinal to the left of the wording. [5] A related filing for the full university name describes the same cardinal head element positioned to the left of the wording “SAGINAW VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY.” [6]
The university’s official color palette for athletics is red, white, and black, with the red specified as PMS 187 C, hex code #AC162A. [7]
Typography and Design
Official SVSU marks must be reproduced from trademarked original digital files (EPS, PNG, PDF, and JPG) provided by the Office of University Communications. They may not be redrawn, re-proportioned, or modified in any way, and no substituted fonts or unauthorized colors are permitted. [1] The university’s 2025 brand guidance specifically warns against using AI tools to create alternate versions of the Cardinal logos, noting that such designs run counter to the university’s interests and industry best practice. [4]
Logo Index is an independent educational archive covering logos, visual identities and graphic design history. All trademarks and brand assets remain the property of their respective owners.
