Delaware State Hornets Logo PNG
The sports teams representing Delaware State University compete under the name of the Delaware State Hornets.
Meaning and history
Delaware State University, a research educational institution, was established in Dover, Delaware, in 1891 and is a historically black university. Even the first name of the institution was “Delaware College for Colored Students”. A bit later the “Delaware” part was changed to the “State”, and the current name and status of the university only gained in 1993.
DSU has a very good reputation in its country and is mainly known for its research activities, however, the university also pays a lot of attention to health and sports. Thus, Del State was one of the first institutions to adopt a non-smoking policy. As for the sports, the university has its own athletic program, which is called Delaware State Hornets.
The Delaware State Hornets program is composed of 18 men’s and women’s teams, which compete in the first division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association in such sports disciplines as Baseball, Football, Basketball, Equestrian, Bowling, and several more. The strongest team in the program is the men’s basketball one.
In terms of visual identity, Delaware State Hornets did not have many design variants adopted throughout the years, the teams of the program do like their unusual and recognizable badge with the red and blue hornet on it.
1970 – 2001
The older version of the Delaware State Hornets’ visual identity featured a caricaturish drawing of a hornet executed in light-blue and red, flying at high speeds with an expression of absolute dedication on its face. The drawing was accompanied by a delicate “Hornets” wordmark written in the uppercase of a slightly narrowed slanted serif typeface, in light blue.
2001 – 2023
The symbolism behind the Delaware State Hornets logo is absolutely transparent. The centerpiece of the emblem is a stylized hornet with a menacing expression on its muzzle. The hornet is given with plenty of details, starting from the elements of its wings and to the multiple legs.
The insect’s body is red with white and black nuances (for the shades and the eyes). The wings feature several shades of light blue helping to create the 3D effect on the Delaware State Hornets logo, and the black outline.
2023 – Today
The redesign of 2023 has made the Hornets logo a bit more balanced in terms of geometry, and symmetrical — now the main character is placed in the center, looking directly at us. The red insect with blue wings and scary white yes has an arched banner with the two-leveled lettering overlapping it. The logo looks bright and definitely makes the Hornets stand out from the list of its competitors.
Basketball
The men’s basketball team competed in the 2005 NCAA tournament. It has also made two appearances in back to back National Invitation Tournament. The women’s team, the Lady Hornets, competed in the 2006 NCAA tournament.
Football
The most successful moment in the history of the university’s football team has been the 2007 MEAC football championship, when the Hornets won with a score of 28 to 21 in overtime. Today, the team belongs to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
Colors
RED
PANTONE: PMS 485 C
HEX COLOR: #EE3124;
RGB: (238, 49, 36)
CMYK: (0, 95, 100, 0)
LIGHT BLUE
PANTONE: PMS 297 C
HEX COLOR: #72CDF4;
RGB: (114, 205, 244)
CMYK: (49, 1, 0, 0)
BLUE
PANTONE: PMS 299 C
HEX COLOR: #009DDC;
RGB: (0, 157, 220)
CMYK: (85, 19, 0, 0)
BLACK
PANTONE: PMS PROCESS BLACK C
HEX COLOR: #231F20;
RGB: (35, 31, 32)
CMYK: (0, 0, 0, 100)
