Just like a logo promotes brand loyalty among customers who love a business or a brand, college alumni or fans can get attached to the logo of their favorite college team as a result of loyalty towards their school. Recently, the Memphis Tigers made a change to their primary logo for the first time in 28 years.    

Memphis Tigers Primary Logo 2021 - Present

There is no doubt that the University of Memphis has some notable athletic alumni.   One famous alumnus is current men’s basketball coach Penny Hardaway. Penny Hardaway averaged 15.0 ppg and 5.0 assists in fourteen seasons. His best years were with the Orlando Magic. He would lead the Magic to an NBA Finals appearance during the 1994=1995 season. Derrick Rose is another famous Memphis Tigers alum. In over ten years in the NBA, Derrick Rose has been selected to the All-Star game three times. He won the league MVP in the 2010-2011 season. Other famous alumni include former NFL running back DeAngelo Williams and NFL Hall of Famer wide receiver Isaac Bruce.

For the last twenty-eight years, the Memphis Tigers have had only one logo. It could be described as simple and effective. The logo features a bold, purple “M.”  However, the top right of the letter “M” is covered by an intimidating tiger that is colored orange. Some white outlines can be seen around as well, along the tiger’s face.  The tiger is in a position in which he is ready to pounce. However, the eyes of this tiger in the logo appear to be half-closed. 

Memphis Tigers Primary Logo 1993 - 2021

The Tigers have had an alternate logo from 1993 to 1998.   The logo is dominated by the word “MEMPHIS” in big black lettering.   The bottom of the alternate logo features the word “TIGERS” in italicized white bubble lettering. The top of this alternate logo features a miniature version of the team’s old primary logo, positioned right between the letter “M” and the “P” of the black lettering “MEMPHIS.” The Tigers also had an alternate logo from 2006 to 2015.  This alternate logo had a smaller version of the old primary logo on the left side.   However, the right side of the logo stated the phrase “THE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS”.  “THE UNIVERSITY OF” was colored in gray while “MEMPHIS” was covered in purple.

Regarding the new primary logo of the Tigers, the significant difference in this logo is the color scheme of the tiger.   Similar to the old primary logo, this logo retains the letter "M" in purple.  The top right of the logo is still dominated by the intimidating tiger, ready to pounce on its prey. The significant difference is that the tiger has a dark green color scheme as opposed to orange.   Some white outlines can be seen along the tiger’s face, similar to the old primary logo.

The dark green color scheme has managed to make the tiger look even more menacing and intimidating than it did in the previous one.   Additionally, the eyes of the tiger in this primary logo are far more distinct than in the last logo.  They are more intimidating and mean than the eyes of the tiger in the prior logo. His eyes send a clear “Don’t mess with me” message!

These two distinctions serve to make this new logo stand out.

See the Memphis Tigers logo history and team history.