HSU History Secrets Revealed: Purple and Gold?

Have you ever wondered how HSU got its colors?

September 3, 2015 Jeremy Maynard

Few things are as important and memorable to an institution as the school colors.  They are seen everywhere on campus, on signs, flags, golf carts, car decals, and all types of apparel.  It is imperative then, that the colors fit the identity of the people that call the institution their own.

From 1891 to 1895 Hardin-Simmons did not have an official school color, but that would change in 1896.  President Thatcher appointed a committee of 3 students to determine the school colors with two choices available to them: purple and gold, or pink and white.  

Now, for some brief historical context, during this time pink was considered a boy’s color, and blue a girls color until around World War II, so pink and white would have been a very manly color.  There is no recorded reason as to why the colors purple and gold were chosen in regards to their other connotations, such as purple being the color of royalty or having some spiritual meaning.  How one of the “other universities” in town came to choose purple for their primary color, I can’t say, but it is safe to declare that HSU chose it first.

So try and remember the next time you are at an official HSU function, pink and white could be adorning each lapel pin, tablecloth, and banner.    

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