Virginia Union University, a historically Black university in Richmond, Virginia, fields its NCAA Division II athletic teams under the Panthers nickname. The university’s athletics website lists the school colors as Maroon and Steel, and the mascot as Howie the Panther.[1]
Design and History
Virginia Union University’s official symbols include the university seal, an interlocking VUU logo, and the Panther mark. According to the university’s style manual, the Panther and VUU marks are designated for informal and athletic publications with a more casual tone, while the seal is reserved for formal contexts.[2]
The university’s style manual identifies these symbols as official trademarks of Virginia Union University, requiring clear and consistent use across all publications.[2] The Panther mark functions as the athletic identity, appearing on uniforms, merchandise, and promotional materials for the university’s varsity programs.
Virginia Union’s athletics programs compete in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), Northern Division, as an NCAA Division II member.[1]
Meaning and Symbolism
The university’s official school colors are Maroon and Steel, as listed on the athletics department’s Quick Facts page.[1] The university style manual specifies the official Pantone color references as PMS 194 (Maroon) and PMS 877 (Steel), and states that the university’s symbols may be printed in these Pantone colors or in white and black only.[2]
The style manual’s restriction to the two Pantone colors plus white and black establishes a tightly controlled palette for all university marks, including the Panther athletic logo.[2]
Typography and Design
Documentation of the Panther mark’s specific construction, including its shape, lettering, or designer attribution, is not publicly available from the university’s official sources. The style manual confirms only that the Panther is one of three official university symbols and that its use is governed by the same color restrictions applied to the seal and interlocking VUU logo.[2]
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