Syracuse Orange is the athletic identity of Syracuse University’s intercollegiate teams, which compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The program’s visual identity centers on a block “S” mark in the university’s distinctive orange, a color that athletic director Jake Crouthamel noted makes Syracuse unique among Division I schools, as it is the only one with orange as its official color.[1]
Design and History
In May 2004, Syracuse University adopted a unified athletics logo for all 21 of its teams, replacing a system in which the department had used multiple marks and logos. The new mark, an interlocking “SU,” was developed through a collaboration between the university and Nike, Syracuse’s official athletics apparel partner. The project was part of Nike’s identity redesign program, which had previously worked with the University of Oregon, the University of Washington, the University of Miami, and the University of Kentucky.[1]
Christopher McClure, creative director for Nike Team Sports, described the goal of the project as creating “a very clean, refined and unique identity that by design fuses elements of the past with the aesthetic values of the future.” The interlocking SU was designed with “a more aggressive angular and aesthetic appearance, depicting speed and a competitive edge.” The redesign also introduced a consistent color palette using a brighter orange than the previous version, with dark blue as the accent color.[1]
The same announcement confirmed that Syracuse’s teams would use the nickname “Orange,” replacing “Orangemen” and “Orangewomen.”[1]
Shortly after, in 2005, the university shifted its primary athletics mark from the interlocking SU to a block “S” design. According to a Syracuse athletics game notes document from September 2005, “The 2005 version of the Block S is the University’s primary athletics mark,” with the interlocking SU still appearing on some uniforms during the transition.[2]
Syracuse University’s brand guidelines, published in 2015, confirm that the Block S is reserved for athletics use, noting that “only non-academic divisions may use the Block S and Syracuse Athletics Navy in lockups.”[3]
Meaning and Symbolism
The university’s official color, Syracuse Orange, is the dominant element of the athletic identity. The 2004 Nike redesign was built around this color, with Crouthamel emphasizing that Syracuse is the only Division I college or university with orange as its official color.[1] The university’s brand guidelines describe Syracuse Orange as the primary color that “must be the dominant color on all pieces,” with the athletics palette using Syracuse Orange from the university branding alongside a dedicated Syracuse Athletics Navy.[3]
Typography and Design
The current primary athletics mark is the block “S,” which the university’s brand guidelines describe as a mark reserved for athletics use.[3] The 2005 version of the block S was designated as the university’s primary athletics mark in official game notes from that year.[2]
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