In conjunction with the 50th anniversary of Title IX, Tennessee Athletics’ recently updated brand standards has renamed the blue accent color historically associated with the Lady Vols “Summitt Blue.”
Additionally, four teams will debut the Summitt Blue uniforms during the upcoming 2022-23 academic year – a collection dubbed the “Summitt Legacy” series. This fall, the Tennessee soccer and volleyball teams will be the first to compete in the new Summitt Blue jerseys.
The Lady Vols basketball team will follow with a full Summitt Blue uniform this winter, and the softball squad’s jersey rotation also will feature a Summitt Blue option this spring.
Summitt Blue stands alongside “Smokey Grey” and “Dark Mode” (formerly Anthracite) as the three accent colors on Tennessee Athletics’ official color palette.
“Tennessee’s history as a worldwide leader in women’s athletics, along with the Lady Vols’ unique legacy of excellence are traditions we are proud to celebrate,” Tennessee Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics Danny White said. “As some of our teams recently saw their new Summitt Blue uniforms for the first time, they reacted with a joy and enthusiasm that I hope will extend to our fans and proud alumni.”
The soccer and volleyball Summitt Blue jerseys will soon be unveiled on those teams’ official social media channels. Fans are encouraged to follow @Vol_Soccer and @Vol_VBall for the latest updates.
The first version of the Lady Vols’ blue accent color appeared in 1968 when Joan Cronan set out to obtain jerseys for the women’s basketball team. At the time, no company offered an orange uniform, so Cronan opted for Columbia blue uniforms with orange lettering when the Lady Vols played at home.
Later, when orange uniforms became available, Tennessee switched to the traditional orange jerseys but a touch of Summitt Blue has remained.
Blue also has appeared on Tennessee men’s uniforms in the past, as the men’s basketball program used a shade of blue as an accent color on its jerseys during the head coaching tenure of Ray Mears in the 1960s.
Summitt Blue Color Codes
Pantone: 2171 C
CMYK: 75/24/0/0
RGB: 72/159/223
HEX: #489FDF