UAB colors

The UAB colors are green and gold. They were adopted somewhat haphazardly and have been refined and redefined under the management of the UAB Office of Public Relations and Marketing as part of their "Brand and Communication Toolkit".

Origin

In March 1970 the Kaleidoscope student newspaper observed that there was "a lot of rap going on about the colors," and provided a form to be filled out and returned to the paper or to the UAB Student Government Association.

At the same time, a group made up of members of the SGA and the Student Entertainment Committee was assembled by President Joseph Volker to deliberate on a color scheme. Many of the first schemes debated were rejected as being too similar to other schools. Entertainment Committee member Chuck Snow proposed green to represent life sciences and paired it with gold to represent prosperity. Though there is no record that it was discussed at the time, green and gold were also the colors used by the Ullman High School Wolfpack before that school was assimilated into the university that same year.

Snow's suggestion was ratified by the committee and forwarded to Volker's staff, but no immediate decision was made. Instead the green and gold scheme was included as one of six options listed on a survey distributed to students, faculty and staff. The result was 231 votes for green and gold, 147 votes for blue and white; and 93 votes for rust and white. The bottom three options were green and gray, red and gray, and red and blue. A report on the results of the survey was prepared and delivered to Volker, but he evidently did nothing with it.

As commencement exercises approached in the spring of 1971 Volker telephoned teacher education professor Virginia Horns, who was overseeing the event plans, to check on her progress. He mentioned that it would be good to have some "brighter" colors than the browns and blacks that dominated the previous commencement at Boutwell Auditorium. When she asked what colors he would like to see, he responded, "I don't give a goddamn what colors we have just so long as there is some brightness in the flowers on the stage!". Horns had been involved in the student surveys, and she selected bright gold and green flowers.

By the time UAB began its intercollegiate athletic program in 1978 under Gene Bartow, the green and gold colors were already established and used, in varying shades, by the school's club teams. Consideration was given to dropping the gold color, which was hard to keep consistent in the manufacture of uniforms and equipment, but after consultation with Russell Athletic, an "old gold" shade was settled on.

2010 brand toolkit

	UAB Green
	White
	Digital Dragon’s Lair Green
	UAB Campus Green
	Loyal Yellow
	Blaze Gold
	Smoke Gray
	Black

In 2010 UAB adopted its first "online brand toolkit", in which it was stipulated the the school's colors, at least as far as official graphics were concerned, would be green and white, with gold, like black, appearing as an "accent color". As part of that toolkit, the school's colors were described using the Pantone Matching System as "Forest Green" (PMS 3425) and "Old Gold" (PMS 123, later deepened to PMS 7406)

In addition a larger palette of colors, including separate specifications for digital and print media, were developed. In the toolkit UAB Green was described as PMS 3425 or Hex #1E6B52. A darker "Digital Dragon’s Lair Green" (PMS 350, Hex #144B39) was recommended for stronger contrast with white in blocks of text, and a bright "UAB Campus Green" shade (PMS 376, Hex #88C408) was provided for use in graphics. Similarly two shades of gold were recommended, a bright "Loyal Yellow" (PMS 109, Hex #FFD602) and a dark "Blaze Gold" (PMS 7503, Hex #A69363). In addition a "Smoke Gray" color (PMS Cool Gray 9, Hex #808285) was suggested for secondary text.

2024 brand refresh

	UAB Green
	Dragon's Lair Green
	UAB Gold
	Metallic Gold

In 2024 UAB refreshed its branding and revised its colors, now officially "green and gold". "UAB Green" was specified as PMS 357 / Hex #1C5420 and "UAB Gold" as PMS 7549 / Hex #FDB913. In place of black on athletic logos, a darker "Dragon's Lair Green" was adopted, specified as PMS 5535 / Hex #002C17. Additionally, a "metallic gold" for use on web graphics was described as a gradation of UAB Gold to a lighter PMS 1205 / Hex #FDE490.

References

• “Color and Controversy” (March 1970) Kaleidoscope
• McWilliams, Tennant S. (2007) New Lights in the Valley: The Emergence of UAB. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press ISBN 0817315462
• Buchanan, Charles & Rosalind Fournier (January 2017) "Blazer Beginnings: The stories behind some of UAB's spirited traditions" UAB Magazine

External links

• Colors at uab.edu
• Brand Refresh at uab.edu