Stacey Sutton

You see them everywhere on the Northern Kentucky University campus: on posters, letterhead and the uniforms of the athletes. They’re the school colors, black and gold, right? Wrong! Confused? You’re not alone. “The official colors of the university are gold and white as established by the first Board of Regents,” said Kathy Stewart, director of special events.

“People see black and gold on more things, whether it be publications, school uniforms and such, so they just assume black is one of the school colors.”

According to Stewart, the problem with the colors was gold could not be read on a white background and white could not be read on a gold background.

“We had to incorporate black, just for legibility purposes really,” explained Stewart.

White and gold are used for some things, like the official university flag and some things in athletics. But for the most part, black is what most people see because black is what makes the white and gold readable.

“A lot of alumni feel strongly about the realization that gold and white are the school colors,” Stewart continued. “Certain ones will even remind you of that.”

Stewart said that is because NKU has very few cherished traditions and the alumni hold on to what they can.

Other traditions of the university are the Norse, the dragon in the water and the Hey You character, which are usually seen only at athletic events.But what you do see everyday, somewhere on campus, are the school colors. And for the record, they’re white and gold.