Mariah Mitchell
Staff Writer
In November of 2019, a petition was created by the 74th Administration of the Student Government Association (SGA) to make red an official accent color for Jackson State University.
Years ago, red was a color for JSU until the university stopped using it. Recently, football players and other sports teams began wearing the color red until they were asked to stop.
Yasmine Howell, a junior biology pre-medicine major from Memphis, Tenn., enjoys having red return to the school’s uniforms.
“We’ve been doing it. I love seeing the accent color making a comeback,” said Howell.
The signature color schemes for the university are navy blue – Pantone 282 and white. There is also a lighter “highlight” blue for limited use in both print and web publications. The highlight blue is Pantone 2925.
“Our current Tiger athletes will now join the tradition of many of our legendary student athletes from the 1970s-1990s by wearing a splash of red to accent Jackson State’s primary colors of blue and white,” said Executive Director of Communications and Marketing Maxine Greenleaf,.
Accents of red began to appear in the athletic teams’ apparel during the late 1960s. Red was worn most notably during the tenure of JSU head football coach W. C. Gorden.
Gorden is a legend among alumni and supporters of Jackson State as the most successful coach in the history of the school’s renowned football program. He served as the head coach at JSU from 1976 to 1991, compiling a record of 119 wins, 47 losses and 5 ties.
His tenure included a stunning twenty-eight-game winning streak during the late 1980s. Credited with making Jackson State’s football program a powerhouse in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) during that era.
Gorden was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008.
Gorden’s Tigers dawned red block JSU helmet logos beginning in 1977. The traditional red sticker design became a point of pride for JSU fans through the end of its use in 1999.
“We are the originators of the color red but I definitely do not want us to be seen as a duplicator of what we already made. We created this color,” stated Kearstyn Richardson, a chemistry major from St. Louis, Mo.
Sierra Lovings, a biology major from Atlanta, Ga., feels that bringing the color red back is a wonderful decision.
“It is a really great decision because in the future our children will be able to look back at this and say we were the ones that reinstated this color. It is something for our kids to look back on,” said Lovings.
Blue and white will remain the primary colors of Jackson State. Gorden Red, which was named by the University Communications in honor of W.C. Gorden, will serve as an accent color for athletics.
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