Temple Owls Logo

Temple Owls Logo PNG

Ironically, Temple Owls now has a logo with a stylized “T” instead of an owl, which is made up of straight lines. The bird emblems became a thing of the past when it was decided to get rid of the outdated design of the 1990s.

Meaning and History

The name Owls originated with Temple University teams a long time ago. The owl became the institution’s mascot back in the 1880s when an evening school was opened in the basement of the Baptist Temple for young men who worked during the day. Because they attended night classes, they earned the nickname “night owls.” By the way, this bird is a symbol of knowledge, wisdom, and good luck. In Greek mythology, she was the second incarnation of the goddess Athena, and in Chinese philosophy, she is considered a magnet for abundance and prosperity.

The owl is present on many Temple Owls logos, but now teams prefer another sign – the so-called Temple “T.” Its first version was created in 1983 and was used for the next thirteen years. In 2020, the university’s athletic department recalled its old emblem to give the stylized “T” a second life.

What are Temple Owls?

Temple Owls are sports teams owned by Temple University and are affiliated with NCAA Division I. Most of them participate in the American Athletic Conference, including men’s and women’s soccer, rugby, basketball, and high school tennis teams. Many of the university’s alumni are Olympic champions, a testament to student-athletes success.

1964 – 1972

In this logo, a frowning and tired owl sits on the letter “T,” clawing at it with long fingers and sharp claws. The artists depicted the beak, ears, and forehead as one solid figure with protruding corners and the eyes with half-lidded eyelids surrounded by a pattern of concentric semi-rings. The torso of the bird appears velvety because of the uneven spots. Gray is used for the owl’s plumage, and burgundy for all contours and shadows. The inside of the “T” is white. The block lettering with massive rectangular serifs makes the letter look like a stable pedestal.

1972 – 1983

The designers changed the emotional coloring of the logo, adding more aggression. The raptor is now depicted full-length: it is about to land with its paws out in front of it, and its wings spread. The flapping feathers are outlined but not detailed, and the plumage on her chest looks like scales. The head and beak of the owl are poorly drawn, although the main elements are present. The artists emphasized the sharp claws to show the danger of the nocturnal hunter. They used white for the bird itself and made all the outlines in maroon. This emblem version was first featured in the 1972 Basketball Media Guide.

1983 – 1996

In 1983, the Temple “T” symbol was created. Graduate students from the Tyler School of Art who studied design and graphics worked on this project. They formed the “T” from several white lines combined into three figures with right angles and placed one extra short stripe at the bottom. The result was a letter with empty tunnels inside. In this version, it is placed inside a dark red rectangle.

1996 – 2014

In 1996, artists depicted a flying burgundy owl flapping its wings. Judging by its outstretched paws and a predatory open beak, it is about to attack its prey. The speed lines add a sense of movement to the logo. Because the design is done in a cartoon style, the wings are unnaturally curved upwards. The silhouette of the bird is outlined in black outlines. The paws, beaks, and dots on the feathers are gray, and the claws and eyes are bright yellow. In addition, there is a tiny “T” on one of the feathers on the right side. Above is the sports teams’ name, which is written in a large triangular serif font. The first line is the gray word “TEMPLE,” and the second is the white “OWLS.”

2014 – 2017

The designers removed the barely noticeable “T” that used to be on the wing and cleaned up the intra-letter space “O” to enhance the three-dimensional effect. They also changed the font of the word “TEMPLE,” using rectangular serifs instead of triangular ones.

2017 – 2020

In this version of the logo, the main element is the sports team’s name. It takes up most of the space, and an owl’s head peeks out from above, with only half of it visible. The bird stares fiercely to the right, with shining yellow eyes, and displays a gray hook-shaped beak in front of it. The lettering is sharply outlined, as in the previous logo.

2020 – today

Since all the owl emblems were overloaded with fine detail and didn’t adapt well to the modern digital space, Temple Owls executives decided to bring back the sporty symbol with a “T.” But they swapped the colors, making the main lines cherry and placing them on a blank white background.

The rebranding was done because the old owl symbol had become obsolete and acquired many unofficial variations. This had a negative effect on the visual consistency of Temple Owls. In addition, the style of the 1990s, with a lot of small details and five colors, was not adapted to the modern screens of mobile devices. So the designers turned to the classic “T,” presenting it in a clean and fresh way. The open ends of the letter symbolize freedom of thought, and the clear shape of the lines inspires a feeling of power.

Font and Colors

The current sports team logo has no lettering unless you count the hand-drawn glyph, which only remotely resembles a “T.” The palette is also very simple. It includes the university’s official colors: cherry (shade PMS 201; HEX #9d2235) and white.

Temple Owls color codes