I remember my orientation at Santa Clara University like it was yesterday. As soon as my family and I stepped on campus, someone clad in a bright red polo shirt waved to us in the distance. We looked around, assuming that this person was waving to someone else, but it was clear that their gesture was directed towards us. While my family and I had no idea who they were, we quickly came to the conclusion that they were associated with the school. As soon as we walked up to the red polo wearing stranger, they happily exclaimed that they would be our orientation leader. Our OL took us to a field with other transfer students and their families, but what struck me was the color coordination of the event. Not only did each OL don the same red polo shirt, but the tarps, kitchen-ware, and free souvenirs were all in the same shade of red. As someone who transferred from a local community college (which also used red as their school color, but not to the extent of SCU), the uniform look of the environment made me realize just how different my upcoming SCU experience would be.
While some may think that school colors are a minuscule part of a college experience, our red, white, and black color palette has always been a vital part of SCU’s branding. Red and white in particular were colors that stood out to many Santa Clara athletes during the early days of the institution. During the 1880s, Santa Clara’s baseball and football teams both chose to sport red and white uniforms (Giacomini 91). According to Helen L. Jones, daughter of Dr. Charles “Soapy” Jones ’88, her father was a part of the first sports team to don the red and white (“Daughter of Santa Claran Adds to History of Colors”, The Santa Clara). It wasn’t until the spring of 1891 where SCC students realized that compared to other neighboring colleges, they did not have an official marker to showcase their school. This motivated a group of students to pursue the idea of proposing official school colors to the current SCC president, Fr. Pinasco. A committee consisting of Elmer E. Smith 91’, Frank B. Robinson ‘91, Joe Carey ‘91, and T.J. O’Connell ‘91 approached Fr. Pinasco with two possible options. Either “Red and white in honor of the sacred heart,” or “Blue and white in honor of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin” (“College Yells, Colors”, The Santa Clara).
“We pictured our college quite as worthy of distinctive colors as any that we knew. And so a group asked questions. “Why shouldn’t Santa Clara have college colors?” “Stanford has cardinal, hasn’t she?” “Yes, and there’s Martin Murphy wearing a Princeton blazer.” “And how about Harry Lelande wearing the colors of Ann Arbor?” “But how about the Jesuit colleges?” “Well, there’s Georgetown–she has colors.”
“College Yells, Colors”, The Santa Clara
After some contemplation, it was said that Fr. Pinasco eventually sided with using the red and white, as it already was the color for their sports uniforms. However, there has been some dispute between Santa Clara College faculty on the true motivation behind the approval of the iconic color palette. Fr. Patrick J. Foote, who was a faculty member from 1886-1888 and served as SCC’s Vice President from 1904-1907, informed many that the red and white did not stand for the sacred heart, but rather it represented the California Bear flag since the school had close ties to California’s development (“History of Santa Clara’s Colors Given By Former Professor”, The Santa Clara). This claim was disputed by Fr. O’Connell, who was also one of the school color committee members who originally approached Fr. Pinasco. Fr. O’Connell argued, “I remember very clearly that in the meeting no mention no mention whatever was made of the Bear flag” (“Controversy Over Origin of Yells and Colors Still Raging”, The Santa Clara).
Whether our school colors represent the sacred heart, California history, or are just pleasing to the eye, there’s no denying how unintentionally fond many SCU students are of these visual aesthetics. Thinking back to my orientation, I fondly remember being excited to buy my very own Santa Clara University shirt, so I could also be clad in that bright red shade.
Header photo: Santa Clara University Artifact Collection, ARTI.2019.02.14. Series II, Box 6, folder 1: Athletics patches, 1950-1988, & undated.
Works Cited
Giacomini, George F., and Gerald McKevitt. Serving the Intellect, Touching the Heart: A Portrait of Santa Clara University, 1851-2000. Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, Calif, 2000.
Although the early committee button/ribbon shows “SCU,” I notice the Bronco patch reads “University of Santa Clara,” as we were known when I attended (BSME ’70). Sometime in the years that closely followed, a rumor surfaced that the University of Southern California (MSSM ’76) paid Santa Clara a fee to revert to the name as it stand now, “Santa Clara University,” so they’d be the only USC, at least on the West Coast (the lesser known being the University of South Carolina). I wonder still if the rumor had any basis.
Hi JT, thanks for the comment! That’s funny you brought up that rumor about University of Southern California and the name because I’ve heard that one a few times. As far as I know, that rumor is unfounded based on the evidence I’m familiar with in the archives. In fact the name was changed because:
• Confusion with other institutions: University of Southern California, University of California at Santa Cruz, and University of South Carolina
• SCU initials were used before the name changed
• The name was inconsistently used on diplomas, and memorabilia, and by students, faculty, and the media.
• The name change would reflect the growing prestige, singularity, and recognition that the institution deserved.
I do have a colleague at USC down south, so I should ask her sometime!
Thanks for the additional info, Kelci. I received a Master’s degree from U of SoCal in ’76, but took the degree off campus, so I didn’t get the chance to ask the question there. I think your note that the Santa Clara name was used inconsistently makes for a good case against the rumor.
[…] Antonio Mora opted to colorize this photo of SCU Football players from the Richard T. Coz S.J. Collection and digitized in Claravision. Extra points for the truly red Bronco jersey. […]