Raiders Wordmark Logo

The Colgate Raiders have a long and storied history as one of the most successful college sports teams in NCAA Division I. As such, their iconic wordmark logo is an important part of that legacy. From its humble beginnings in the 1950s to its current iteration, let’s take a look at how this classic symbol has evolved over time.

The original Colgate Raiders logo was created by former student-athlete John Rauch back in 1951 when he served as team captain for the football team. His design featured two crossed swords with “Colgate” written above them and “Raiders” below them all set against a white background - which remains unchanged today! Over time, minor alterations were made to modernize it slightly but still retain its original essence: The sword blades were changed from straight lines to curved ones; bolder lettering was used; shadows were added around some elements; and finally, black outlines replaced gray ones on both sides of each blade (which gave it more depth).

In 2018, after decades of loyal service from the old version – not only within athletics but also across campus – Colgate decided to give their beloved mark an upgrade while still preserving what made it so special: Its simplicity & timelessness! A new font was chosen for better readability & legibility along with brighter colors that popped off any surface or apparel item they appeared on! Finally - just like before - two crossed swords remain at center stage flanked by "COLGATE" above and "RAIDERS" below...only now they are much sharper looking than ever before thanks to these changes being implemented throughout every aspect including typography/lettering selection as well as color palette choice/usage etcetera…all culminating into one unified visual identity system representing what makes up who we are here at COLGATE UNIVERSITY!!!