The Texas Southern Tigers are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Texas Southern University (TSU), a public historically Black university in Houston, Texas. The Tigers compete in NCAA Division I as members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) [1]. The university’s official colors are maroon and gray, and its mascot is the tiger [2].
Design and History
The current Texas Southern Tigers primary athletics logo, in use since 2009, features the initials “TSU” with a tiger head appearing from the right side of the “T,” all placed on the state shape of Texas in maroon and gray [3]. The design incorporates the state outline as a geographic identifier for the Houston-based university.
Before this mark, the Tigers used a primary logo from approximately 1998 to 2009 that showed “TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY” above a tiger head and upper body set within a triangle, with stylized “TIGERS” lettering below in maroon, gray, and white [4]. The earlier design placed the tiger head inside a gray triangle with a maroon border, with the word “TIGERS” rendered in gray letters edged in maroon beneath it [5].
Texas Southern University maintains a broader institutional visual identity separate from the athletics marks. The university’s graphic standards guide describes the TSU logo as consisting of two parts: the symbol (TSU) and the wordmark (name) [6]. Athletics licensing for TSU-branded merchandise is managed through a partnership with Learfield Licensing Partners [7].
Meaning and Symbolism
The tiger is the most direct symbol of the athletic program, reflecting the university’s nickname. The inclusion of the state of Texas in the current primary logo ties the athletics identity to the university’s home state. The maroon and gray palette matches the university’s official colors [2]. No official documentation of additional symbolic meaning for the tiger head or color choices has been published by the university.
Typography and Design
The current primary logo uses the block letters “TSU” as its central typographic element, with the tiger head emerging from the right side of the “T” [3]. The earlier 1998-2009 mark used a stacked arrangement with “TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY” above the tiger graphic and a stylized “TIGERS” wordmark below [4]. Specific typeface names for either logo have not been publicly documented by the university.
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