The Best College Logos

The best college logos are those that instantly identify which schools they represent, either by including the schools' names or simply a letter in school colors. Of course many logos also incorporate the school's official mascot in the design. Although determining the best of just about anything can be a subjective matter, this list covers many styles of logos, from the simple and serious to those that have a little fun with their designs.

  1. Animal Logos

    • Many colleges use animals as their symbols and some make up the best college logos. The Boise State Broncos, for example, feature a metallic blue and orange bronco over the words "Boise State." The Miami University Red Hawks also feature an animal---a fierce-looking hawk with the name of the college.

    Keep it Simple

    • Some of the best college logos use nothing more than letters to tell the world what college is represented. Oklahoma University uses an interlocking "O-U" in white letters over a deep crimson background, while the University of Oregon uses a stylized yellow letter "O" against metallic green. Other Pac-10 schools also use a single-letter logo to good effect. They include the bold red "S" for Stanford, the red-white-and-blue "A" against a navy background for the University of Arizona and the navy "W" against a gold background for the University of Washington. The University of Cincinnati Bearcats tweak the simple letter design by taking a capital "C" and adding a few claws to the top of it for a very modern design.

    Warriors and Other People

    • Next to animals, people are the most common mascots used by colleges. Those symbols usually call upon a warrior of some kind, such as the Michigan State Spartans, or local history, such as the West Virginia University Mountaineers, University of Texas-El Paso Miners, Florida State University Seminoles or the Purdue Boilermakers. Of the people-featured logos, Michigan State's green background and white silhouette of a Spartan helmet and UTEP's pick-axe-wielding miner are among the most admired.

    Odds and Ends

    • Some of the best college logos feature a play on words or a sense of humor. For example, Stetson University in Florida has the nickname the Hatters, so the team's logo is a green "S" wearing a stetson-style cowboy hat. And the University of California at Santa Cruz is famous for allowing its student body to vote on a mascot. Banana Slugs won and now the school's athletic logo features a tough-looking banana slug.