Canisius Golden Griffins Logo PNG
The Canisius Golden Griffins logo depicts a griffin, a creature with the body of a lion and the head of an eagle. Its image is linked to the name of the lost ship Le Griffon, which once sailed the Great Lakes. The griffin symbolizes the athletes’ intelligence, strength, and alertness.
Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, was founded in 1870 by Jesuits and named after Peter Canisius. Student teams formed early, and basketball was played from the 1903–04 season onward.
In 1932, the nickname “Golden Griffins” emerged after a student article by Charles A. Brady. He referenced “Le Griffon,” a ship built in 1679 in Buffalo under René-Robert La Salle that later disappeared in the Great Lakes. The Griffin symbol became part of campus identity.
During the 1918–1920s, the campus hosted the Buffalo All-Americans from the early NFL through a lease arranged by Barney Lepper. Basketball reached its peak in the 1950s. In 1955–56, the team ranked 15th in the Associated Press poll and played in the NCAA Tournament in 1955 and 1957, with NIT appearances as well.
In 1996, coach John Beilein returned the program to the NCAA Tournament after 39 years. Canisius defeated North Carolina in the first round. Darrell Barley was named player of the year in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
Hockey gained visibility with NCAA appearances in 2013 and 2023, including a win over Holy Cross before facing the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Players later signed with the St. Louis Blues and the Florida Panthers.
Softball recorded sixteen MAAC regular titles and multiple NCAA appearances since 1994. Baseball posted a 41–13 season in 2008. Rivalries with Niagara University, Saint Bonaventure University, and the University at Buffalo shaped the regional competition.
Meaning and History
Following the tradition of university teams, artists placed the sports mascot on the Canisius Golden Griffins’ logo. The yellow griffin, with the body of a lion, large feathered wings, and a white bird’s head with sharp claws extended forward. It’s out hunting and won’t rest until the victorious end. Dark blue contours and shadows make the drawing more expressive.
What is Canisius Golden Griffins?
It is the athletic department of Canisius College, comprising 16 student teams. Among the most successful are baseball, basketball, hockey, and men’s lacrosse. Participants in the intercollegiate program compete in NCAA Division I, MAAC, and Atlantic Hockey.
1998 – 2006
Canisius College teams were represented by an unusual symbol, the griffin, a mythical creature combining the strength of a lion with the free spirit of a bird. The Golden Griffs logo was compact and vivid, with the upper portion occupied by a three-level wordmark.
At the top, a simple line reads CANISIUS COLLEGE, set in a light, restrained typeface. Below it sits a dark blue ribbon outlined in yellow and sharpened at the ends. Against the ribbon stands the word GOLDEN, written in strict, even capital letters in yellow.
The main emphasis is placed on the word GRIFFS. It is bold, vertically stretched, and aggressive in style. The blue fill contrasts strongly with the yellow outline.
Beneath the lettering appears the griffin itself. It is shown in flight, with wings raised, revealing detailed featherwork. The head is white, the beak is yellow, sharp, and curved downward, and the gaze is focused and determined. The bird’s legs are shown with powerful talons. The lower part of the body is leonine, rendered in yellow with a blue outline that highlights musculature and fur texture.
The visual strongly conveys the competitive spirit of the college’s athletic teams, uniting history and motion in the Golden Griffs name.
2006 – 2013
The updated Griffin image for Canisius College teams introduced a different structure. The griffin turned to the opposite direction and moved to the top of the logo, while the institution’s name was placed below.
The creature is depicted in an attacking pose, with powerful front legs thrust forward, sharp claws, rear legs bent, and the body angled. The wings are spread wide. The figure is outlined in dark blue, with clear muscle definition and detailed wing and claw forms.
The name CANISIUS appears beneath the griffin. The typeface is decorative and vertically elongated, with a yellow outline and dark blue fill. The word is arched, and the griffin’s claws partially overlap the letters, visually linking the two elements. Below this main word, following the same curve, is the word COLLEGE in a smaller size, set in a simple sans-serif typeface.
2013 – today
In the next version, the Canisius logo retained the recognizable griffin image with several subtle adjustments. The word COLLEGE was removed from the composition. The bottom now features only the word CANISIUS, vertically stretched and arched upward. The yellow outline became slightly brighter by a few tones, while the interior letter fill remained dark blue.
The griffin remains positioned above and facing the same direction. Its figure remains shown in an attacking stance.
