Stetson University
Florida
1883
Formerly “John B. Stetson University”
The original school colors of Stetson University were gold and white, said to have been chosen to resemble the white blossoms and the fruit of the orange trees on campus. Students voted to change these colors to green and white in 1899, probably because gold and white athletic uniforms soiled too easily and were difficult to keep clean.
Citations in the World Almanac (listed by cover date; color information is from the previous year): white/gold (1900-1901); green/white (1902-1935)
The Intercollegiate Bureau of Academic Costume (IBAC) may have assigned Stetson University a green hood lining with a white chevron before c.1912, and this description appeared in academic hood lists published by the IBAC in 1927, 1948, and 1972. Reflecting the popularity of lighter and brighter colors in American culture during the 1950s and 1960s, academic hood lining lists compiled by Kevin Sheard in Academic Heraldry in America (1962) and Academic Dress and Insignia of the World (1970) described the university’s hood lining as “emerald green” with a white chevron. Stetson had traditionally used a true green, which is the shade in the hood lining pattern assigned by the Intercollegiate Bureau, shown here.