Grambling State Tigers Logo PNG
Another American institution, Grambling State University, has represented its sports program, the Grambling State Tigers, since 1956 and updated its logo in 1997. The latest version of the emblem succinctly reflects progress and aligns with modern trends.
Grambling State University’s athletics program began in 1901 under segregation, which shaped its early path in college sports. The breakthrough came in 1941, when Eddie Robinson became head coach at age 22 with a 33-player roster. In 1942, the team went undefeated and allowed no points.
Robinson returned to the program in 1945 after World War II and built it over the next few decades. In 1955, Grambling finished 10:0 and secured a national title among Black colleges. The team joined the Southwestern Athletic Conference in 1959 and won its first conference title in 1960, beginning a 27-year winning streak through 1986.
More than 200 players advanced to the NFL, including Buck Buchanan and Willie Brown. In 1985, Robinson surpassed Paul “Bear” Bryant after defeating Prairie View A&M, becoming the winningest coach in college football history. That same year, Sports Illustrated featured him on its cover.
The program gained international exposure in 1976 with a game against Morgan State in Tokyo, followed by a Mirage Bowl appearance against Temple in 1977. Quarterback Doug Williams led the team from 1974 to 1977, was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and later became the first Black quarterback to win a Super Bowl in 1988.
After Robinson retired in 1997, Williams returned as head coach and won three straight SWAC titles from 2000 to 2002. Basketball added a national NAIA title in 1961 with a win over Georgetown College, while the Bayou Classic against Southern University remained a major annual event.
Meaning and History
1956-1964 – an era of the cartoonish emblem with a drawn tiger. It held an honored place as the institution’s main symbol. It was an anthropomorphic image: the animal, dressed in a black sweater with the letter “G,” stood on its hind legs and held an orange flag with the inscription “Grambling” in its forepaws. In 1965, the logo developers removed the traditional mascot. They replaced it with a large black letter “G” in a yellow ellipse. The current version was used through 1996.
The 1997 redesign made only minor changes to the design details. The colors became more saturated, and a wide black outline appeared around the geometric figure. Notably, this version is nearly identical to the Georgia Bulldogs logo.
What is Grambling State Tigers?
Grambling State Tigers is an NCAA intercollegiate program representing Grambling State University. The sports department is located in Louisiana and is part of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The football team competes in I-FCS. The conference has 13 student teams.
1956 – 1964
The early Grambling State Tigers emblem featured a tiger representing the athletic teams of the Louisiana institution that later became Grambling State University. The animal directly referenced the teams’ nickname, the Tigers. From 1956 to 1964, it appeared in a humanlike pose, wearing a sweater and holding a school pennant.
The word “GRAMBLING” on the pennant and the letter “G” on the sweater identified the college. The institution opened in 1901 as the Colored Industrial and Agricultural School, serving African American students. In 1946, it became Grambling College in honor of P. G. Grambling, a sawmill owner who donated land to the school. It gained university status and adopted the name Grambling State University in 1974, after retiring this early emblem.
The tiger stood head to toe, with its hind legs apart and one front paw raised. Black stripes crossed its red-orange fur, while white areas defined its muzzle and inner ears. It wore a black sweater with a large red-orange “G.” The initial matched the tiger’s fur color.
In its raised paw, the tiger held a pole bearing a triangular pennant. Narrow black capital letters spelled “GRAMBLING” along the fabric. The letters grew taller toward the pennant’s wider end, following its shape.
1965 – 1996
Grambling’s next emblem replaced the detailed mascot illustration with an initial. The letter “G” sat inside a horizontally elongated yellow oval. According to the university, the oval “G” has been in use since the 1970s.
A thick black stroke forms the letter. Its nearly closed outline follows the oval’s proportions, with a heavy horizontal bar extending inward from the right. A yellow gap remains above the bar. The background surrounds the outer edge of the “G” and fills its interior, separating the black portions.
The emblem combines black and gold. The sans-serif “G” maintains the connection to the Grambling name. The design consists solely of the initial and its oval background.
1997 – today
In 1997, Grambling began using a version of the oval “G” with a black border around the yellow field. The letter, horizontally elongated proportions, and black-and-gold color scheme remained. The outer border enclosed the emblem, with a thin yellow band separating it from the heavy stroke of the “G.” A single initial continued to represent the Grambling name.
The oval “G” and its resemblance to the emblems of the Green Bay Packers and the University of Georgia became the subject of a legal dispute when Grambling sought federal trademark registration in 1998. Opponents objected, citing the other sports organizations’ previously registered emblems. Although the letters had similar outlines, the teams used different colors. The Packers paired green with gold, Georgia used red and black, and Grambling used black and gold.
Grambling State University secured federal registration No. 8148992 for its stylized “G” in 2026. The university announced the registration on March 2. The law firm Kean Miller handled the application, with intellectual property partner Devin Ricci leading the work. The attorneys revised the application and argued for the emblem’s distinctive features and its longstanding association with Grambling.
Grambling State Tigers Basketball
In 1961, the men’s team became the first, and only, in-state team to win the NAIA national basketball championship. Later, the team reached the NAIA “Final Four” and competed in the CollegeInsider.com postseason tournament. The women’s team has six matches in the NCAA Division I tournament.
Grambling State Tigers Baseball
The Grambling State University baseball team was established in 1936. James Cooper currently coaches it. Home games are held at Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones Park and Wilbert Ellis Field.