Salukis Primary Logo

The Southern Illinois Salukis have a long and proud history of athletics, and their primary logo has been an integral part of that story. The current version was introduced in 2006, but the classic logo dates back to the late 1950s.

The original design featured a white profile silhouette of a Saluki dog on top of two crossed bones with “SOUTHERN ILLINOIS” written underneath it. This symbolized strength and courage for the university's teams as they competed against other schools during NCAA competitions. It also served as an homage to Egypt's ancient god Anubis who is often depicted with similar imagery - highlighting SIU's connection to its Egyptian heritage through past mascot choices like "Egyptian" or "Pharaoh."

In 1975, this classic design was updated slightly by adding red accents around the edges while keeping all other elements intact; this included changing “SOUTHERN ILLINOIS” into block lettering instead of cursive writing which had previously been used in earlier versions (pre-1975). In 2003 another update took place when SIU changed its official colors from black & gold/yellowish-brown tones into more vibrant shades including maroon & gray – these changes were reflected onto both logos at that time too! Finally, after much anticipation among fans across campus came 2006 when yet another redesign happened: replacing those two crossed bones with one single bone pointing upwards towards skyward victory! This new look gave them what many consider today their most iconic version ever created thus far...one that still stands strong even after 15 years since first being unveiled!

Today, Southern Illinois' primary logo remains largely unchanged from its previous iterations over decades ago – only minor tweaks here and there such as font styles or color palettes have occurred throughout the years gone by so far (with the exception being the aforementioned switch out between double vs single bone element back then). No matter how slight each alteration made helps ensure ongoing relevance amongst collegiate sports circles nationwide while paying tribute to school spirit every step along the way too!