Frequently Asked Questions

As USF continues to do the hard work of keeping our education—including delivery formats, contents of current programs and entirely new programs—relevant to today, we are excited to share a new logo that is representative of both our current programming and the rich, enduring traditions of our 139-year-old institution. 

With the landscape of higher education rapidly changing, USF is seizing the opportunity to be a leader in entrepreneurial and innovative change. One such way our University is accomplishing this is by refreshing our visual brand with a new logo, in order to modernize and optimize for versatility on various digital platforms.  

While our logo is new, the mission and vision of the University will continue as our unchanging foundation. USF remains proud to be a Christian Liberal Arts University.

What’s the Same:
USF’s overall brand including mission and vision statements, values and culture are all remaining unchanged. These foundational elements of our identity served as key drivers used to inform the direction of the new logo. You will find the familiar purple color remaining the same.

What’s New:
A new modernized logo with a clean readable font that reflects USF in the current digital age.

USF’s institutional logo was created roughly 10 years ago. The refreshed logo is representative of both USF’s modern educational experience, as well as and the rich, enduring traditions of our 139-year-old institution.

Nearly all 18 local and regional competitors examined in a competitive analysis have gone through a branding initiative in the past 10 years.

In short, by having a brand well-aligned with institutional identity and marketplace niche, USF improves its effectiveness in marketing and recruitment by representing a message that resonates to prospective students succinctly and authentically.

The University has gone through a comprehensive process with the guidance of professional branding partners, the inception of which was pre-pandemic. Over the past year, a 15-person visual rebrand task force with strategically broad-based representation across various disciplines and roles provided leadership to the initiative.  

Beyond research and competitive analyses, listening to key stakeholder groups perceptions of and experiences with USF was vital to the process. USF surveyed a number of its most important stakeholder groups including alumni & friends, trustees, faculty & staff, current students, prospective students and prospective students’ parents.

USF received back over 1,000 completed surveys, the results of which contributed to over 450 pages of discovery process findings. Each page of survey results was read and considered. With this high volume of feedback—and importantly evidence of consistency among numerous groups—the task force and the University’s branding partners moved forward with developing, adjusting and fine-tuning logo options. 

The USF Board of Trustees approved the logo in June 2022.

No. Based off a competitive analysis, survey feedback and the recent nature of its last update, the Cougar Athletics logo will remain unchanged at this time.

No. Purple remains USF’s primary brand color. The yellow accent color used within The Difference Is Here campaign materials is not an official brand color, and will be used sparingly for recruitment and admissions materials only.

Yes! Visit Cougar Central on campus or shop online at https://shop.usiouxfalls.edu/.

USF is taking a phased approach to rolling out the new logo. The University is focusing first on digital assets beginning September 8 and high visibility campus signage beginning September 12. Logo updates for recruitment-related collateral and other University materials is already well underway. Signage at the USF Athletic Complex will be updated throughout September and October. The majority of updates will take place in the first month. Full implementation will likely take a year or more. We thank you for your patience. 

USF personnel can view additional FAQ’s pertaining to logo usage, access and expectations at www.myUSF.edu.