While the Arizona Wildcats logo has gone through several transformations, it has remained consistent in its core for almost half a century. Since 1972, it has been based on letters (first “UA,” then “A”).
Arizona Wildcats represent the University of Arizona, a public educational institution, founded in 1885, and based in Tucson. The athletic program of the university is composed of 18 men/s and women/s teams, and women do have more sports are covered. There are ladies teams in soccer, softball, gymnastics, and many more, while the men Wildcats are mostly known for their basketball and baseball achievements.
As for the visual identity of the Arizona Wildcats, its history is pretty laconic, with just one redesign throughout the program’s existence. The logo of the athletic teams has always been based on the letter “A” without any additional graphics. And if the original badge was at least somehow creative, the current one is very regular and simple.
What are Arizona Wildcats?
Arizona Wildcats is the name of the athletic program from the University of Arizona. The program is composed of 18 teams, where men and women compete in various sports disciplines, including Basketball, Baseball, Track and Field, Swimming, and several others. Arizona Wildcats compete in the first division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
The original Arizona Wildcats logo, designed in 1950, stayed in use by the athletic program for long twenty years. It was a cute and quite primitive contoured image of a smiling cat, wearing a cowboy suit, boasting a bold geometric “A” on the shirt. The blue-and-white drawing was the only element of the teams’ badge.
The redesign of 1970 has kept the color palette and the cowboy styling of the cat on the Arizona Wildcats logo but changed the mood of the animal to a mean and dangerous one. Also, the shirt and the trousers of the wildcat were Joe executed in solid blue, making the overall composition stronger and more eye-catching.
A completely new design concept was introduced by the Arizona Wildcats in 1981. The drawing of a cat was gone, and its place was taken by an extra-bold bright red “A” in a double white and blue outline. The character was set in a heavy geometric serif typeface, and looked very stable and strong, with no need for extra details.
The primary Arizona Wildcats logo introduced in 1990 features only the letter “A.” Or, to be precise, you can see three letters “A” positioned one inside the other (a red one, a white one, and a dark blue one). The red letter has sharp serifs and a sharp top, while the white and blue letters with their block-like serifs belong to a slab serif type.
The redesign of 2007 has kept the idea of the previous version and all the shapes just like they were but played with the shades of blue and red, making both of them more vivid and bright, which has created a stronger and more delightful image, full of energy and positivity.
The alternative logo has featured a stylized wildcat’s muzzle since 1990. The muzzle belongs to one of the university’s mascots, the anthropomorphized wildcats named Wilbur and Wilma. The cat can be given either in blue or in red. The background is white in both the blue and red version.
The Arizona Wildcats men’s basketball team is often named among the most successful programs in the US. The history of the women’s basketball program in its modern form started in 1972. The women’s team is known for being runner-up in the Pac-10 Conference Tournament twice and making seven appearances in NCAA tournaments.
The team boasts over 120 years of history (since 1899). The name “Wildcats” was adopted in 1914. One of the most successful periods was the 1990s.
The four national championship titles Arizona Wildcats baseball team has won so far make it one of the most known teams in the US.
CARDINAL
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NAVY
PANTONE PMS 281 C
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