A History of the University of Texas at San Antonio Logo
For all of its changes since its founding on June 5, 1969, one thing at UTSA has remained pretty stable: the logo. The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) has a rich history of traditions that convey the story of community and cultural diversity. As a public research university in San Antonio, Texas, UTSA has evolved its visual identity over the years, reflecting its growth and aspirations. Student-athletes compete as the UTSA Roadrunners and are members of the American Conference.
The Circle Logo (1980s - 1994)
Around the Archives, there’s a clear favorite: it’s logo #1, The Circle. (That’s not an official name.) The Circle is decidedly groovy, with its U curving around to form its T and its S curving right into its A. The S blends into the A so well as to make it almost imperceptible, almost like a logo for UT Arlington. The Circle appears to have stuck around for quite awhile, lasting through the entirety of the ’80s until finally, in June 1994, the UT System Board of Regents approved a new logo.
The Mission/Sombrilla/River/Hill Country Logo (1994 - 2002)
From “Trademark and Logo” section of the Guide to University Communications, published circa 1996. The new logo introduced a graphic element into the logo and bid farewell to the groovy Circle. According to the Guide to University Communications (circa 1996), “The University logo contains elements common to the campus and the community. A graphic depicting the Sombrilla, the University’s most identifiable landmark, is contained inside a mission structure meant to represent the city’s heritage. Across the bottom, connecting the University with the community, runs the San Antonio River. The bottom of the mark also can be interpreted as the Texas Hill Country, which borders UTSA on the north and west” (p. 56).
The UTSA Wordmark Logo (2002 - Present)
In September 2002, it was out with the old, in with the… well, revised. The Mission/Sombrilla/River/Hill Country icon was dropped, and the Futura condensed type “UTSA” wordmark remained as the new logo. Today’s logo, in blue.
The Evolution of the Roadrunner Mascot
In 1977, UT San Antonio hosted an election to determine a school mascot. Many choices were considered, including the armadillo, stars, eagle, jaguar, roadrunner, puma, toro, and vaquero. The armadillos and stars won the election, knocking the roadrunner from contention. However, a voided election forced a second vote, and the roadrunner staged a surprising comeback. On Dec. 9, 1977, the roadrunner was announced as the UTSA mascot and came to be known as Rowdy.
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Four years later, when the university launched its intercollegiate athletics program, the need arose for an energetic roadrunner on the sidelines to join the cheerleaders and pep up the crowd. Antonio Gonzalez III, the first student to wear the Roadrunner Mascot costume, made his debut by 'hatching' from an egg during a basketball pep rally on November 24, 1981.
Palmer, who still works at UTSA, recalls Thompson’s attending a basketball game and complaining about the “flat roadrunner.” This epithet referred to the official logo from the late ’80s, which was a silhouette of the familiar bird. “He [Thompson] wanted a roadrunner that embodied both strength and fierceness, hence Rowdy’s muscular stride. Thompson was also impressed with the University of Georgia logo, which at the time featured a snarling bulldog. That icon’s striking facial expression reflected the appropriate ‘game face,’ and is exactly what the athletics director wanted his mascot to communicate,” Palmer explains.
Fast-forward two decades to 2008. The university has a new athletics director-Lynn Hickey-and is looking to build a multimillion-dollar athletics complex and potentially add a football program, all part of an aggressive mission to take the athletics department to the next level. With these new goals comes a new look. The athletics department unveiled a new logo on March 1 during the Roadrunners’ homecoming basketball game against the Texas A&M Corpus Christi Islanders.
“Rowdy had aged,” Hickey says. “It was more of a cartoon character, and we wanted to move toward an authentic-looking roadrunner. The new logo is distinctively UTSA, and the new wordmarks allow us to tie our university’s name directly to the Roadrunner mascot for the first time. The homecoming unveiling culminated a yearlong process to update the Roadrunner mascot logos and create athletics wordmarks (stylized treatments of the name).
The athletics department hired Rickabaugh Graphics from Gahanna, Ohio, to design the new marks. Representatives from Rickabaugh came for a campus visit in fall 2006. The company researched the history and traditions at UTSA and conducted personal interviews with administrators and student athletes. The athletics department and Rickabaugh then set up focus groups of alumni, student athletes, and other students, faculty, staff, donors, and athletics sponsors.
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Eric Rickabaugh, who owns the company and worked on UTSA’s project, designed between six and eight concepts for the focus groups to critique. After the initial feedback his company went back to the drawing board to come up with three final concepts. More than 300 people then participated in the final critique last spring.
In a final report given to the athletics department, Rickabaugh wrote, “While I agree that collegiate brands that are too aggressive are not advisable, it is critical that the new look reflect a ‘tough’ and ‘proud’ attitude.
Rowdy: The Embodiment of UTSA Spirit
Rowdy was born and raised on the edge of the beautiful Texas Hill Country in San Antonio de Bexar. At an early age, he was a prodigy in cheering, inspiring, and motivating. Rowdy became a young adult and his talents shined so bright, that a University sprung to honor his awesomeness. What University you ask? UTSA is proud to name Rowdy as their official mascot. Rowdy is rarely able to be reached for interviewing, but over the years, some people have come forward with information on this rare bird.
Rowdy is most proud of his stunning good looks and his legions of minions that follow his every move. In 2011, Rowdy was cast as ABC’s next Bachelor, but had to decline since the taping of the show would interfere with the inaugural season of UTSA Football. Rowdy has become the most idolized bird in San Antonio. He is so idolized, that when Batman is in trouble, he turns on the Rowdy signal. Rowdy was also once voted more popular than the Kardashians, is a self-proclaimed “Smartest Mascot in San Antonio,” and states that Rome would have been built in a day if they followed his blueprints correctly.
This magnificent bird participates in multiple hobbies and holds numerous Championship titles throughout the world. He won the 1983 World Series of Poker, holding only a Joker, a Get Out of Jail Free Monopoly card, a 2 of Clubs, a 7 of Spades, and a green #4 card from the game UNO. Keep an eye out for Rowdy.
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Colors and Traditions
Rowdy, UTSA’s favorite feathered friend, still is the university mascot. Athletics teams still call themselves Roadrunners or ’Runners, and the colors remain orange, white, and navy blue. What changed was the appearance of the logo. “We contracted the best and took our time to develop new logos and wordmarks that are acceptable to the entire campus community,” Hickey says. “The unveiling is the culmination of a year of design work, focus group interviews, and administration approvals.
Our colors still include the UTSA legacy orange and midnight blue, and UT Health San Antonio’s sunrise orange. Now, we have a bigger palette with colors meant to reflect the vibrancy of San Antonio itself. Make the roadrunner hand sign by opening your hand with your palm facing away from you, as if you were telling someone to stop. Then, curl your first three fingers toward the center of your palm, leaving your thumb and little finger upright. Mimicking the body of a roadrunner bird, the thumb is the head and the pinky is the tail.
The Roadrunner Legacy
UTSA is San Antonio's only NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision institution and is currently a member of the American Athletic Conference (AAC). The Roadrunners compete in 17 intercollegiate sports, including baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, football, men's and women's golf, women's soccer, softball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field, and women's volleyball.
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