Columbia blue

Columbia blue is a light blue color named after Columbia University. The color itself derives from the official hue of the Philolexian Society, the university's oldest student organization. Although Columbia blue is often identified with Pantone 292, the Philolexian Society first used it in the early 19th century, before the standardization of colors. Pantone 290, a slightly lighter shade of blue, has also been specified by some Columbia University offices, and is the current official color listed by the Columbia University visual communications office. Several other shades are also used by parts of the university in an official capacity.

The color has been adopted by several fraternities and sororities across the United States as well as by numerous secondary schools and other colleges and universities including Johns Hopkins University. It has also been used as the official color of a number of sports teams, including the Houston Oilers, the Buffalo Braves, and the Tampa Bay Rays.

History

Columbia blue derives from the official colors of the Philolexian Society, which was founded at Columbia in 1802. Members of the society have been reported to have worn blue satin rosettes and silver tassels as part of their academic regalia, while members of the rival Peithologian Society would wear white rosettes and gold tassels. The color was first combined with white to represent the university in 1852, during a joint event between the two societies. Both parties wishing to be represented in the promotion of the event, and having decided that using all four colors would be excessive, they picked the color scheme of blue and white, the former borrowed from the Philolexian Society, and the latter from the Peithologian. The two colors were quickly adopted by students to represent the college. According to John Howard Van Amringe, the color first entered official use during a boat race in 1873.

Tones

In a 2009 publication, the university officially lists Columbia blue as Pantone 290, though a darker shade, such as Pantone 292, may still be called Columbia blue when used on a light background. "Secondary Blues" used by the university include Pantone 284, 285, 286, and 280, while the Columbia University Irving Medical Center uses Pantone 7686 and 3005. In one of the first attempts at standardization, the university's athletics department declared Columbia blue to be Pantone 292 in 1999, though, as of 2016, the Columbia Lions actually use Pantone 291; however, Pantone 292 still remains a popular byword for Columbia blue and the university as a whole.

Pantone 292 is also referenced by name in the song "Reno Dakota" on The Magnetic Fields album 69 Love Songs, which was largely written in New York.

Usage

Fraternities and sororities

Organizations, fraternities and sororities that use Columbia blue for their colors:

Delta Phi
Acacia
Lambda Kappa Sigma
Philolexian Society
Eta Chi Gamma of New York Institute of Technology

Colleges and universities

Columbia Basin College
Columbia University
Delaware State University
Johns Hopkins University
Lewis–Clark State College
Livingstone College
Moorpark College
Richard Stockton College
Southern University and A&M College
Sonoma State University
Spelman College
Stockton University
University of Dayton (until 1994)
University of San Diego
Warner Pacific College

Secondary schools

Columbia blue is used as one of the two or three color symbols for the following colleges, universities and high schools:

Sports

The Buffalo Braves (now the Los Angeles Clippers)
The Denver Nuggets wore Columbia blue road jerseys from the 2003–04 NBA season to the 2016-17 NBA season
The Kansas Jayhawks football team used Columbia blue in the early 1960s and wore Columbia blue in an October 2011 homecoming football game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders to honor their 1961 Bluebonnet Bowl champions
The Kansas City Royals "powder blue" uniforms that debuted in 2008 are actually Columbia blue
The Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters basketball team wears their traditional Columbia blue jerseys instead of the university's official color Reflex blue
The Memphis Grizzlies introduced an alternate Columbia blue road jersey in 2009, which is actually "smoke blue"
The Tampa Bay Rays selected Columbia blue as one of its three color symbols in September 2007. The color is used in the team's logos, uniforms and official merchandise
The Houston Oilers used Columbia blue in their color scheme throughout their entire franchise history from 1960 to 1996. The Oilers moved to Tennessee in 1997 to become the Tennessee Oilers, and in 1999 would change their names and uniforms to become the present-day Tennessee Titans, including a switch to the slightly darker "Titans Blue"
The Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team wears Columbia blue accents on their uniforms
The Utah Jazz wore Columbia blue alternate road jerseys from 2006 to 2010
The Houston Texans have had an alternate uniform that includes Columbia blue accents since 2024