“I love the new visual identity system,” said Carla Williams, Virginia’s director of athletics. “It’s exciting and it maintains UVA’s sense of history and a strong connection to the past. It pays homage to our tradition and what we hope our future will be, which is to be bold, creative, innovative, competitive, fierce and fiery. The new marks and logos have all of those qualities in each one of them.
“It’s important to acknowledge the challenges we are currently facing, and we considered delaying the launch of the new brand identity system. However, we hope our new marks and logos serve as a rallying point for our coaches, student-athletes, prospective student-athletes and fans. We look forward to being back on Grounds together again.”
On June 15th 2020, Virginia Cavaliers made a change to their 3-month old logo by changing the sabres that are featured in the V-Sabre logo, and on the Cavalier Shield, have been changed to remove the curves that were added to the handles.
Williams declared, “There was no intent to cause harm, but we did, and for that I apologize to those who bear the pain of slavery in our history.”
2020 - Present
The Virginia logo features a large orange with highlights letter “V” with a blue outline and two blue sabers crisscrossed underneath.
“After the release of our new logos on April 24, I was made aware of the negative connotation between the serpentine walls and slavery,” Williams said in a news release. “I was not previously aware of the historical perspective indicating the original 8-foot-high walls were constructed to mask the institution of slavery and enslaved laborers from public view.
2020
The V-Sabre has always embodied the energy and strength of Virginia Athletics – as well as the greater University community. In its newest evolution, the mark incorporates bolder lines and beveled edges, giving it weight, power, and a dynamic presence.
At the time the logo was unveiled, the grips of the sabers were supposed to mimic “the design of the serpentine walls found on the Grounds,” according to the school.
Retired June 2020.
1994 - 2019
A white with orange trim letter “V” over crossed orange swords. The letter “V” represents the state of Virginia.
1978 - 1993
A blue with red feather Cavalier’s head over a wordmark “VIRGINIA” in blue.