Columbia blue

Columbia blue is a light blue tertiary color named after Columbia University. The color itself derives from the official hue of the Philolexian Society, the university's oldest student organization.^[2] Although Columbia blue is often identified with Pantone 292, the Philolexian Society first used it in 1852, before the standardization of colors. Pantone 290, a slightly lighter shade of blue, has also been specified by some Columbia University offices,^[3] and is the current official color listed by the Columbia University visual communications office.^[4]

Usage, symbolism, colloquial expressions

Fraternities and sororities

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

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

School color

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 Los Angeles Clippers.
• The Denver Nuggets have worn Columbia blue road jerseys since the 2003–04 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 1960–1996. 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".^[5][6]
• The Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team wears Columbia blue accents on their uniforms.
• The Utah Jazz wore Columbia blue alternate road jerseys from 2006–2010.

Music

• The song "Reno Dakota", by the band The Magnetic Fields, makes a play on words with the color in the couplet "You know you enthrall me and yet you don't call me it's making me blue/Pantone 292."

See also

• List of colors

References