Since 1931, the logo of the Arkansas Razorbacks has featured a running red and black hog. The creature has been modified over five times, which resulted in a more professional design that we can see today.
The team that is today known as the Razorbacks of the Hogs was established under the name Arkansas Cardinals and kept it until the early 1930s. However after the rename, the “cardinals” part of history stayed with the club in its color palette, which has never been changed from cardinal-red and black.
What are Arkansas Razorbacks?
Arkansas Razorbacks is the name of the athletic program from the University of Arkansas. The program is composed of 19 men’s and women’s teams, which compete in various sports disciplines, including Basketball, Baseball, Track and Field, Cross country, and several more. The program is a member of the first division of the NCAA.
The initial Razorbacks logo was created in 1931 and featured a red hog running to the right, with black sharp details on his back. The animal looked more funny than dangerous, but this version of the emblem became a basis for all the following redesigns.
The redesign of 1938 redrew the hog, making its contours stronger and bolder and the look of the animal more serious and frightening. The image gained more details and accents and the hog looked more realistic than on the previous version, reflecting the speed and fighting spirit.
In 1947 the black accents of the badge were replaced by the white ones, which made the whole emblem look lighter and airier. The hog seemed to be faster and more furious in this version, as some red touches were added around the animal, pointing to the speed and motion.
The black and cardinal-red color palette came back to the Razorbacks visual identity in 1955, and the animal was redrawn again. Its face became more severe and brutal, and the contours — stronger and more powerful, now the hog looked as if it was a rock of muscles, showing the team’s dedication and willingness to fight, move and win.
The first version of the cardinal hog we all can see today was introduced by the Razorbacks in 1967. It was a modern image of a running animal, executed in a custom team’s color palette with smooth lines and some sharp elements.
With the redesign of 2001, the contours of the red hog were cleaned and refined, adding more sharpness to the back of the animal and making the whole image balanced and strong. The face of the hog evokes a sense of determination and readiness to fight the competitor without waiting a second. This was a truly great graphical representation of the team’s spirit and essence.
The redesign of 2014 kept the previous version of the Razorbacks logo almost untouched, only the color palette was elevated by darkening the red shade, which added more exquisiteness and style to the image.
The official colors of the University of Arkansas, cardinal and white, dominate not only the academic logo but the athletic logo, too. We can also see some black on the Arkansas Razorbacks logo. It’s used for the outlines and to give some depth to the design. The cardinal can be reproduced using the following values: PMS 201, RGB: 157, 34, 53; Hex: #9D2235.
Over time, there have been some playing around with the shade of cardinal, but the overall scheme has preserved the same.
Probably the most successful year for the university’s football team was 1964 when they became the only team to go through the regular season and a bowl game undefeated. The team plays its home games either at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium or at War Memorial Stadium.
The team, which is listed among the top 10 NCAA programs of all time, plays its home games in Bud Walton Arena. The Razorbacks have been to NCAA Final Four six times.
Since Dave Van Horn became the coach of the university’s baseball team, it has reached the post-season NCAA tournament every year except 2016.
CARDINAL RED
PANTONE: PMS 201
HEX: #9D2235;
CMYK: (7, 100, 68, 32)
RGB: (157, 34, 53)
WHITE
HEX COLOR: #FFFFFF;
RGB: (255, 255, 255)
CMYK: (0, 0, 0, 0)