Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE Edwardsville) was established in 1957. It is one of the two institutions that comprise the Southern Illinois University system. Although SIUE Edwardsville was the more recently founded of the two Southern Illinois institutions, it has the larger enrollment of the two institutions. Regarding NCAA athletics, the university competes at the Division I level in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). Despite being relatively young as an institution, the logo has a rich and detailed history.

Two months ago, the SIUE Edwardsville Cougars revealed a new, updated logo. In this piece, we will primarily review the details of the new logo. 

The SIUE Edwardsville Cougars logo checks all the boxes in terms of effectiveness. It is clear, simple, and poignant. The logo has a red “SIUE” wordmark with white and black outlines. All of the letters in the “SIUE” are slanted. 

The highlight of this logo is the menacing and intense-looking cougar at the bottom. The piercing eyes indicate that one can be in deep trouble if one gets on the cougar’s bad side. The cougar head was made by the university’s communications and marketing department. 

As previously mentioned, the SIUE Edwardsville Cougars had a detailed logo history. We must review that history to gain some perspective on the new logo created by the university. One will see that the depiction of the cougar is a significant element presented in most logos. 

From 1973 to 1994, the SIUE logo had an orange circular background. The lower half of that logo contained a white “SIUE” wordmark in a bold font that looked like it was “Times New Roman.”

In the center of the logo, a crouching cougar can be seen, poised to attack or pounce. The cougar was colored white with a red outline. The length of the cougar went from the middle of the logo to the outer portion of the logo. The cougar has its left paw raised. 

Between 1994 and 2001, some notable adjustments were made to the school’s logo. One can no longer see the orange circular background. Instead, the red circular background was mainly replaced with a thin orange semicircle with a transparent white background. The school kept the depiction of the white cougar from the previous logo. It can be seen within the semicircle. However, the cougar is smaller than the previous logo. 

The bottom of the logo contains an “SIUE” wordmark in the same font as the previous logo. However, the logo is colored red. 

In 2001, the university went in a completely different direction. This logo contains an “SIUE COUGARS” wordmark on the left of the logo. The “SIUE” wordmark has a bold font and is colored red. However, the logo has a thin white trim and a heavy gray outline. The white “COUGARS” wordmark is contained within a pillbox-shaped red background. A gray outline is also visible here. The “COUGARS” wordmark is mainly contained within a black background with a gray outline.  It is also shaped like a pillbox. 

The right side of the logo features a brown cougar snarling aggressively and partially turned. He appears to be clawing in a forward motion. The brown cougar has black outlines. This logo lasted until 2007. 

In 2007, the institution went in a different direction with its logo to commemorate its 50th anniversary. The logo contains a menacing cougar head that towers over the “SIUE COUGARS” wordmark below it. The cougar is colored black as well as various shades of brown.

The “SIU” portion of the “SIUE” wordmark is colored black. However, the “e” is lowercase and is colored red. The “COUGARS” is colored black, yet has a smaller font. The logo lasted until 2022. 

For the 2022-2023 season, the institution opted for a logo without a depiction of a cougar. All that is seen is the “SIUE COUGARS” wordmark. The “SIUE” is colored red and has white & black outlines. The entire “SIUE” wordmark is slanted. The “COUGARS” wordmark is below the “SIUE” wordmark and is colored black.

The newest Southern Illinois University Edwardsville logo had the same “SIUE” logo as the previous year. The most significant addition is the introduction of the intense cougar head. Of course, this resulted in the subtraction of the “Cougars” wordmark.  

Out of all the cougar logos that Southern Illinois University Edwardsville has had throughout its logo history, the newest logo is the most memorable. I believe this is a memorable logo that the university will have for years to come.