Cleveland State Vikings Logo PNG
The Cleveland Vikings, the sports department of the local university, founded in 1982, is represented by a formidable emblem that underscores the name. The emblem of the Cleveland State Vikings reflects determination, team spirit, unity, and irrepressibility.
The Cleveland State Vikings athletic program traces back to Fenn College, where the Fenn Foxes basketball team began in 1929. In 1965, the school became Cleveland State University, and a new nickname was chosen through a student vote organized by The Cleveland Press. “Vikings” replaced the former mascot, while green and white colors were retained.
Until 1972, the program competed in the NCAA College Division, then moved to Division I. From 1972 to 1981, Cleveland State played as an independent before joining the Mid-Continent Conference in 1982. In 1994–95, the program entered the Midwestern Collegiate Conference, which later became the Horizon League in 2001. Rivalries developed with the Youngstown State Penguins and the Detroit Mercy Titans.
The key basketball moment came in 1985–86 under Kevin Mackey. As a No. 14 seed, Cleveland State reached the NCAA Sweet Sixteen, defeating Indiana Hoosiers and St. Joseph’s before losing to Navy on a late basket by David Robinson.
Another highlight came on December 15, 2008, when Cedric Jackson hit a last-second three-quarter-court shot to beat No. 11 Syracuse 72:69. In 2009, Cleveland State returned to the NCAA Tournament and defeated Wake Forest 84:69 as a No. 13 seed.
The program won the McCafferty Trophy in 2008 and 2013. Mascots evolved from Hagar the Horrible in the 1980s to Vike in 1997 and Magnus in 2007. Since 2019, wrestling has competed in the Mid-American Conference, but in 2025, the university announced the closure of wrestling, women’s golf, and softball programs.
Meaning and History
From 1982 to 2005, the official logo of the sports department was a drawn green man with Viking attributes: a horned helmet, a spiked shield, and a Carolingian-type sword. The anthropomorphic character embodied strength, confidence, belligerence, and constant readiness for attack.
In 2006, after a major redesign, the logo changed. Now, it features a real Viking, or the upper part of his head. The helmet is multicolored: artists combined two shades of gray, used white for the horns, and outlined the drawing with a wide green line.
What is Cleveland State Vikings?
The Cleveland State Vikings are a sports department comprising 17 teams made up of students from Cleveland State University. It is located in Ohio and is a member of the NCAA, where it has competed at the Division I level since 1972. Its representatives also participate in the Horizon League, Mid-American Conference, and ASUN Conference.
1965 – 1982
1982 – 1999
1999 – 2007
2007 – 2014
2014 – today
The lower half of the original character’s face is occupied by the inscription “Cleveland State.” It looks unique because of the individual font, with pointed serifs of varying lengths. The words are positioned between two horizontal stripes that separate the logo’s textual and graphical parts.