History of UND's School Colors

The following outline demonstrates how the use of official school colors has evolved over time.

The History

“In April [1889] the student body met and chose the school colors, the pink and green of the prairie rose, ‘suggestive of our green prairies and rosy prospects’,” (Geiger, 1958).
Starting around 1907, green and pink were not used to represent UND for roughly a decade. Instead, black and gold, more traditional school colors, were unofficially adopted. Alumni protested black and gold, and in the 1920s green and white were adopted as UND’s team colors, while green and pink remained the official colors (Geiger, 1958).
The 1920s were the golden era of athletics, which enhanced the use and recognition of the university’s colors as green and white.
Until the last few decades, UND green and pink were rarely used in printing due to cost and technological limitations.
Orange was added into the University’s color palette with the introduction of the logo for the centennial celebration in 1983. The centennial logo was modified after the yearlong celebration and is still the logo in use today.
- Orange has never been an official school color and is reserved for use in the official UND logos and when telling the Eternal Flame’s story. It is not present in other aspects of branding.
In 2002, a Graphic Identity Style and Standards Manual was developed by University Relations at the request of the Office of the President. It was endorsed by the President’s cabinet. It stated the following:
- “The official colors of the University are green and pink. However, this color combination is rarely employed outside of official or ‘ceremonial’ applications. In most contemporary applications, green, white, and black (depending on budget and design) are used as the UND colors.”
- This guide, and an updated version from 2004, were the foundation for the current identity and brand guidelines.
In 2020, UND’s pink Pantone® was updated from Pantone® 189 to Pantone® 1895. Pantone 1895 is recommended as it is a more recent color than Pantone® 189 and it is more consistent across Pantone, CMYK and RGB formulas, allowing for easier Pantone matching in design and licensing.