California Davis Aggies Logo PNG
The California Davis Aggies logo features a mustang, symbolizing the team’s strength and perseverance. The name “Aggies” recalls the college’s agricultural traditions and highlights the athletes’ respect for the university’s history.
UC Davis Aggies trace their history to 1915, when the football team defeated Nevada Sagebrushers 14:0 in Carson City. The university grew from an agricultural branch of the University of California, Berkeley, which gave the Aggies their name.
In 1925, the program joined the Far Western Conference. For decades, teams competed in Division II without athletic scholarships. Under coach Jim Sochor, appointed in 1970, football dominated, winning 18 straight conference titles from 1971 to 1988 and posting a 92:5 record in league games. In 1982, the team reached the Division II national final with quarterback Ken O’Brien.
Basketball added a national Division II title in 1998, followed by a softball championship in 2003. These results supported the move to Division I, announced in 2003 and completed in 2007.
A defining moment came on September 17, 2005, when UC Davis beat Stanford Cardinal 20:17 at Stanford Stadium. The same year, the Aggies also defeated Stanford in basketball.
In 2007, Aggie Stadium opened, and football entered the Big Sky Conference. In 2018, the team shared the conference title and reached No. 4 in FCS rankings.
Basketball later competed in the Big West Conference, winning regular seasons in 2015 and 2018. In 2017, UC Davis beat UC Irvine in the final and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time.
In December 2024, the university announced it would join the Mountain West Conference starting in 2026–27, while football would remain in the Big Sky.
Meaning and History
What is California Davis Aggies?
It is a sports department participating in the intercollegiate program. It is affiliated with the University of California and comprises 25 student teams from the Big West Conference. Football players compete in the NCAA FCS at the Division I level and are part of the Big Sky Conference. Representatives of this organization also belong to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, the Western Water Polo Association, the American East Conference, the Pac-12 Conference, and the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference.
1959 – 1999
The original California Davis Aggies logo features a monogram composed of two letters, a large outer C and a smaller inner A. The figure appears unified due to the consistent letter style. The contours are angular, without rounded corners or smooth transitions.
The outer letter C is octagonal. The color treatment includes a solid ochre-gold fill and a thin dark-blue outline.
At the center of the monogram sits the letter A, fitted into the space created by the C. The symbol is smaller in size but stylistically mirrors the outer element. It uses the same heavy type with flat edges and sharp cuts. The color matches the outer letter.
1999 – 2013
In the late 1990s, the University of California, Davis, adopted a new logo style. A white Mustang head appeared at the center of the composition, set inside a dark blue letter “C”. The animal figure appears dimensional due to subtle gray shading. The letter itself sits within a horizontally stretched emblem with soft, rounded corners. The space around the C is filled with an ochre gold tone.
The lower portion is complemented by the inscription UC DAVIS AGGIES, arranged on two lines and underlined with a thin gold line. The upper line is split by color and type style. UC is set in refined, slightly pointed letters reminiscent of classic Trajan or Garamond styles. The word DAVIS is heavier, closer in character to Impact or Gotham Bold. Below it, the word AGGIES is rendered in smaller, dark-blue letters with wide spacing. Each letter contains a thin gold inner outline, creating a subtle dimensional effect.
The emblem’s colors reflect the university’s official palette, with the primary color being Aggie Blue (Pantone 295). Gold and dark blue unify the elements, creating a cohesive visual system.
2013 – 2019
Sometimes brand changes are barely noticeable to the eye, yet they still influence perception. That is what happened with this logo update. Despite the similarity of symbols, wording, and layout, one detail changed: the color. The previously used gold ochre tone had been darker and more muted. The updated version became brighter and lighter, appearing more saturated. All other elements remained unchanged, preserving the original composition.
2019 – today
The 2019 logo redesign shifted to restrained typography. Designers focused solely on text, dividing it into two levels.
At the top is the name UC DAVIS. The large uppercase letters are rendered in dark blue with a slight rightward slant. The letterforms are outlined with thin, light olive lines. The outline is precise and runs along the outer edge of each character, emphasizing shape and contrast against a light background. The typeface is dense and heavy, sans serif, with vertically elongated proportions, similar in style to Impact or Compacta.
Below the main wordmark, the word ATHLETICS appears in the same light olive tone. The letters are smaller, thinner, and spaced farther apart. They are rendered in a clean sans-serif typeface reminiscent of Gotham, DIN, or Avenir. All text elements are set in uppercase letters.