The University of Iowa has athletic teams in more than 20 sports. The teams share the same name – Iowa Hawkeyes – and the common logo.
Meaning and history
The visual identity of Iowa Hawkeyes is composed of one emblem, used by more than twenty different teams, so its main characteristics are universality and recognizability. Though the badge we all see today has almost nothing in common with the Hawkeyes original logo version, it accents the evolution not only in design but in the overall approach.
1953 – 1962
The initial logo version of Iowa Hawkeyes was composed of a friendly and funny image of a running hawk wearing the helmet. The stylized burg was placed on a background with an enlarged rugby ball on it and had an arched banner with the wordmark above its head. The yellow and blue color palette if the original emblem evolved into a yellow and black and styled with the team by today.
1962 – 1971
The rugby ball and a banner were removed from the logo in 1962, and the contours and lines of the hawk were cleaned and strengthened. Now the bird, wearing a football uniform, had a bold black “I” on its jersey and looked speedy and dangerous, ready to fight and win. The team had been using this cartoonish hawk badge for nine more years.
1971 – 1979
The redesign of 1971 introduced a badge with a more traditional and elegant approach. The yellow and black color palette of the logo was kept, though some more intense and dark yellow shades were added to a sleek flying hawk, which had its wings spread wide and evokes a sense of freedom, speed, and grace. It was a simple yet sophisticated emblem, which pointed to professionalism and expertise.
1979 – Today
The logo, designed for the Iowa Hawkeyes in 1979 is the most long-standing and brilliantly performs all the necessary functions, such as reflecting the character of the teams, representing the main values, and being memorable and recognizable. The horizontally oriented solid black oval has a stylized modern image of the hawk, placed in profile and facing right. The smooth yellow elements of the bird look elegant and stylish, and its direction stands for moving forward and progressing.
Tigerhawk symbol
The current Iowa Athletics primary logo is known as the Tigerhawk. The side view of the bird’s head is given in gold against the black background.
Block “I” emblem
There two icons called the Block “I” and the Outline Block “I”. They may be used in all white, gold, and black versions.
Font
In addition to the primary logos, there is a set of wordmarks. The font may be regular or italic. Its distinctive feature is the unusual “cut out” pieces.
Color
Iowa Hawkeyes logo shares its color palette with the University of Iowa itself. It consists of two colors, black and gold (PMS 116 C).
Iowa Hawkeyes basketball
The basketball team consisting of the UI’s students played its first official game in early 1896. However, it was only six years later that the university started its own men’s basketball program. Since 1909, when the Hawkeyes first competed in Big Ten games, they have won eight regular-season Big Ten championships. They have not been very successful lately, though, – their most productive time period took place in the 1950s.
Iowa Hawkeyes baseball
The history of the baseball program started in 1890. Since then, the Hawkeyes have won eight Big Ten titles. They competed in the College World Series at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha with a 13–3 Big Ten record. The team can also boast its 11-game Big Ten winning streak.
Iowa Hawkeyes football
The football team has a very long history – it played its first game in 1872. And yet, it was only seventeen years later, in late 1889, that football officially became a varsity sport in the university.
Their home arena is Kinnick Stadium. A Division I FBS member of the NCAA, the Hawkeyes are ranked 25th of all college football programs based upon total appearances in the Associated Press.
Iowa Hawkeyes Colors
HAWKEYES GOLD
PANTONE: PMS 116 C
HEX COLOR: #FFCD00;
RGB: (255, 205, 0)
CMYK: (0, 20, 100, 0)
BLACK
PANTONE: PMS BLACK 6 C
HEX COLOR: #000000;
RGB: (0, 0, 0)
CMYK: (0, 0, 0, 100)