Crimson Alternate Logo

The Harvard Crimson has a long and storied history, with its iconic crimson logo being one of the most recognizable in college sports. But did you know that there is an alternate logo for the team as well? The alternate logo has been around since 1996 and has evolved over time to become a beloved part of the school’s identity. Let’s take a look at its history and how it came to be.

The first iteration of Harvard's alternate crest was designed by former Crimson player Tom O'Neill '63 in 1996. It featured two crossed oars with “Harvard University” written above them, along with three stars underneath representing each varsity sport: rowing (the main focus), football, and baseball/softball (which were combined into one star). This design would later be modified slightly when it was adopted by Nike as part of their NCAA-licensed apparel line in 1998; they removed the words "Harvard University" from above the oars but kept everything else intact.

In 2004, another slight variation on this design emerged during Harvard's bicentennial celebration when they added two more stars below—one for men's soccer/lacrosse (combined) and another for women's basketball—bringing us up to five total sports represented within this version of their crest! Additionally, some minor changes were made such as altering certain elements like fonts or colors so that all five teams had equal representation on both sides which created balance throughout its composition overall; these modifications also helped bring out more detail within each individual image making them stand out even further against any background color used behind it too!

Since then, several other iterations have come about including ones specifically tailored towards different teams or events such as Football Alumni Weekend where only four stars are visible instead – representing those same four original varsity sports listed earlier plus alumni football players themselves who now get recognition alongside current athletes thanks to this unique mark! As we can see here today though no matter what version appears across various products ranging from t-shirts hats mugs etc., one thing remains constant: The spirit behind every single rendition is always unmistakably HARVARD CRIMSON through & through.