Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
New Jersey
1766
In the 27 July 1902 edition of The Argus, an Albany NY newspaper, an article entitled “Albany Bureau of Academic Costume” contained a list of Intercollegiate Bureau of Academic Costume (IBAC) hood lining patterns that had been assigned to some of the more prestigious colleges and universities of the time. In that article Rutgers was stated to have a hood lining with the single color of scarlet. This assignment never changed in subsequent IBAC lists.
Because Rutgers had not been listed in previous catalogues or advertisements by Cotrell & Leonard (the depository for the Intercollegiate Bureau of Academic Costume), it is possible that Rutgers might not have been assigned a hood lining pattern until 1901 or 1902, immediately prior to the publication of this newspaper article.
The students of Rutgers selected scarlet as their school color in 1869. Black or white were often used as accents, but they are not official colors of the university.
Citations in the World Almanac (listed by cover date; color information is from the previous year): scarlet (1895-1931); scarlet/black (1934-1935)
