The University of Vermont Catamounts are the NCAA Division I athletic teams of the University of Vermont (UVM) in Burlington, Vermont. The athletic program’s visual identity is built around the catamount, a name for the mountain lion that was chosen as the school’s nickname by student vote in 1926. The species is believed to have been extinct in Vermont since the mid-1800s. [1]
Design and History
The primary athletics mark is the V-Cat logo, which pairs a prominent letter “V” with a leaping catamount. [2] The university’s licensing program identifies the V-Cat as the primary and preferred Athletics logo, and restricts its use to retail and internal Athletics purposes. [3]
In June 2003, the UVM Athletic program updated its V-Cat logo, giving the catamount a new look and introducing individual identifying marks for different sports. [4]
In April 2023, UVM Athletics debuted a new front-facing catamount head logo, branded as the “Rally Cat Head.” The design depicts a front-facing, yellow and green catamount head and has been used on merchandise, wall signage, media microphones, and social media profiles for athletic teams. [5]
The Rally Cat Head logo has been the subject of an ongoing copyright lawsuit. Sophia Boyages, a former administrative assistant to the Director of Athletics, claimed authorship of a digital illustration of a front-facing catamount head titled the “SophCat,” which she created in January 2023. UVM adopted the logo in April 2023, branding it as the “Rally Cat Head,” incorporating it into merchandise, and filing for trademark protection. [6] In November 2025, a federal court ruled that UVM owns the Rally Cat logo under the work-for-hire doctrine. [6]
In February 2024, UVM announced a university-wide brand refresh that retired the Old Mill tower logomark in favor of a refined V logomark outlined by a shield. The redesign did not affect athletics branding, which continues to use the catamount marks. [7] The university first began using the Old Mill tower as its logo in the 1990s. [7]
Meaning and Symbolism
The Catamounts nickname dates to a 1926 student vote. The catamount, a legendary mountain cat found in Vermont’s Green Mountains, was chosen over alternatives including the tomcat, camel, cow, and wildcat. [1]
The university’s official colors are Catamount Green and Gold. The 2024 brand guidelines identify Catamount Green as the primary color with the hex value #154734, and Gold as the secondary color. [8] The athletic style guide also lists Catamount Brown, Catamount Light Brown, and Catamount Orange as supporting colors. [3]
Typography and Design
UVM’s brand guidelines specify that the V-Cat logo is the primary and preferred Athletics logo, and that the Cat Head must be accompanied by an additional athletics identifier such as “Catamounts,” the V, or the Split V. [3]
In 2018, UVM launched a vintage-inspired merchandise collection that brought back four popular vintage logos, including two featuring former university mascots Kitty and Charlie Catamount. [9]
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