Vanderbilt University Colors: A Legacy of Black and Gold

Vanderbilt University, located in Nashville, Tennessee, boasts a rich athletic history embodied by the Vanderbilt Commodores. A member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), Vanderbilt's identity extends beyond its athletic prowess, encompassing its core beliefs and visual components. These elements work in harmony to create a distinctive look, voice, and feel that resonate with the Vanderbilt community.

The Evolution of Vanderbilt's Identity

Vanderbilt's story is one of continuous evolution. The university has transitioned from a "great regional university" to a prominent private research institution with a global presence. This evolution necessitates regular updates to the university's identity to reflect its changing mission, needs, and audiences.

Recognizing the need for a refreshed identity, Vanderbilt undertook a comprehensive review process. This process involved extensive input from the community, including over 500 surveys, 70+ interviews, and numerous workshops. Feedback was also gathered from the Commodore Fan Council and the Black and Gold board of advisors. The goal was to create a unified and complementary look and feel across all university marks.

A New Visual Identity: Reflecting Forward Momentum

March 22nd marked a significant day in Vanderbilt's history as it unveiled a completely overhauled visual identity. Spearheaded by Chancellor Daniel Diermeier, the refresh was designed to reflect the university’s forward momentum and to build pride and visibility across the institution, including its athletics programs. The updated marks include a new wordmark, athletics logos, and seal, all designed to capture the essence of Vanderbilt's heritage and future aspirations.

Candice Lee, vice chancellor for athletics and university affairs and athletic director, stated that the timing of the identity refresh was perfect, illustrating the "new era" of energy, alignment, and momentum.

The New Marks: A Closer Look

Wordmark

The university commissioned a hand-drawn serifed font unique to Vanderbilt for the new wordmark. This custom-drawn logotype is inspired by classic engraved lettering styles and modern interpretations. It possesses a wide stance and an even rhythm, giving it a feeling of stature. The new logotype and associated lockups portray the perfect blend of classicism and modernism.

Athletics Logos: "Block V" and "Star V"

Vanderbilt is elevating the new “Block V” as its primary athletics logo. The new athletics logos (“Block V” and updated “Star V”) echo the “V” from the wordmark but with bolder lines and more versatility.

Many people have complained that the “star V” was recognizable in the SEC. Staying away from that causes Vanderbilt to blend into the background against the other unique logos of a star-studded conference. While the “star V” was recognizable, the new logo still stands out.

The dimensional metallic V ensures prominence of our most iconic asset. The dimensional V is the primary mark and should be used most often.

If a V-forward lockup is desired, or you are designing a centered layout, or you need a more vertical vs.

Read also: Vanderbilt University Alumni

Seal

The new seal is hand-drawn and features the “V” along with traditional elements-such as a star, oak laurels, and an outer perimeter resembling a compass-in nods to the university’s heritage. Our custom-illustrated seal features our new motto (Crescere aude, "dare to grow"), year of founding, and reference to symbolism important to Vanderbilt’s distinguished history. Oak laurel branches are showcased here as a symbol of strength. The north star guides our way, and the circular container shape alludes to the markings on a compass.

The Significance of Black and Gold

The school colors are black and gold. Opinions vary as to the reason for selecting black and gold as the colors for Vanderbilt's teams. Some say the original colors were orange and black, given to the university by Judge W.L. Granbery of Princeton. When questioned about the subject in the 1930s, the few remaining members of the school's first football squad from 1890 did not recall why they suddenly began appearing in black and gold.

Metallic gold, black and white make up our core color palette. Just like we "own the V," we deploy a consistent, iconic palette. These colors are unmistakably Vanderbilt. Gold is an ancient symbol of wealth and beauty with unique material properties. It's a conductor of heat and electricity, a reflector, a catalyst. It's malleable, ductile and never corrodes. Metallic color looks best expressed materially where light can interact with it. Imagine the metallic gold paint gleaming on a football helmet, or metallic gold foil to accentuate the Vanderbilt seal on an event invitation or diploma.

In 99% of cases, metallic gold ink (PMS 871 C) should be specified when printing with Vanderbilt Printing Services or another professional printing company. Many new "digital" printers are capable of printing metallic gold. The fallback flat gold should only be used when a printer, such as an office color copier, can't accommodate metallic ink.

Color Palette and Accessibility

Use of contrast and color is essential to accessibility and to ensuring that our design work is available to all audiences. Our core palette is high-contrast by nature. The color pairings shown below are Level AA accessible. WCAG AA requires a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. Black on white and white on black have a 17:1 contrast ratio. Flat gold on black has a 5.75:1 ratio. While our primary palette deploys a high-contrast triad, these colors are supported by warm neutrals: cream, taupes and grays, with higher-saturation hues for impact. For data visualization needs, such as creating a bar chart, or to support Vanderbilt sub-brands such as camps or events, you may take advantage of our higher-chroma secondary palette. When planning your color theme, consider the four examples above which show ways to use our color system to achieve very different moods. A tonal palette appears more subtle and less contrasted.

A Phased Implementation

Given the long lead time required for athletic uniform design and production, uniforms featuring the new logos will debut in fall 2023. A selection of items featuring the new marks will be available for purchase at the Vanderbilt Bookstore and online at vubookstore.com and shop.vucommodores.com beginning March 22. More products will be added throughout the summer and fall of 2022. The university is implementing a phased approach.

Vanderbilt Athletics: A Tradition of Excellence

The Vanderbilt Commodores are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Vanderbilt University. Vanderbilt fields 17 varsity teams (6 men's teams and 11 women's teams), 14 of which compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

Vanderbilt is a charter member of the Southeastern Conference and is the conference's only private school. With approximately 6,400 undergraduates, the school is also by far the smallest in the conference. Vanderbilt fields fewer teams than any of its rivals and sometimes lacks the national prominence enjoyed by schools such as the University of Florida or the University of Kentucky.

Men's and women's tennis and men's and women's basketball are traditionally Vanderbilt's strongest sports, with the more recently founded women's lacrosse and bowling programs as well as the long-standing men's baseball program experiencing national success, winning the 2014 and 2019 College World Series. And being the national runner up in the 2015 and 2021 College World Series.

Key Moments in Vanderbilt Athletics History

Baseball: Vanderbilt won the 2014 and 2019 College World Series. Baseball has been a part of Vanderbilt athletics since its official debut in 1886.
Basketball: Vanderbilt basketball began on February 7, 1893, with a 9-6 victory over the Nashville YMCA, making it the first basketball game played by a collegiate team.
Football: After enjoying success in the first half of the 20th century, the football program struggled through the beginning of the 21st century. In the 2008-09 season, however, the Vanderbilt football team posted a winning season and won its first bowl game in 53 years.
Women's Bowling: Women's bowling won the NCAA championship. In 2018, the women's bowling team won its second national championship by defeating the defending champions McKendree University.
Women's Tennis: In 2015, the Vanderbilt women's tennis team won its first national championship by defeating the defending champions UCLA Bruins.
Volleyball: Vanderbilt reinstated women's volleyball in the 2025-26 school year (2025 season) after having dropped the sport in spring 1980.

Vanderbilt's Athletic Rivals

Vanderbilt's primary rival in almost every sport is the University of Tennessee. There is also a rivalry with the University of Kentucky in basketball. In addition, the Commodores' second-oldest rivalry is with Ole Miss, and the two schools play each other every year as SEC cross-division "permanent opponents".

tags: #vanderbilt #university #colors #history