PonyFans.com

Hey everyone,

We have rolled out the new jersey for the SMU Cycling club. We wanted to incorporate a more modern racing design with the athletic departments shift back to our more tradition colors.



If you are interested in purchasing a kit, jersey and/or shorts, please contact our faculty advisor Scot Montague at [email protected][sic].

One quick annectdote, Obviously we have alumni all over the US but I have had the pleasure of having people come up and say hello when wearing my SMU kit on the road up in the 'burbs of Chicago and on the Trek 100 Ride for Hope this year in Waterloo, WI...special shout-out to Lydon Neumann '68 (waterpony) - Former SMU Men's Swim Team Cap't.

We are very excited for this up coming year and will have individuals racing in crit's up in Plano every week. We want to expand rapidly and have set out sights on organizing a race around campus including the BLVD that will feature the major collegiate clubs from around Texas...yes, we plan to beat the crap out of NTSU.

Pony Up,

Noah Buck

President
SMU Cycling Club

"... shift back to our more tradition colors."

Well what are those now???

I thought they were navy (Yale blue) & crimson/dark red (harvard) as stated by the university web site?

Is someone finally getting some sense there & going back to "those" colors???!!!

NavyCrimson wrote:

"... shift back to our more tradition colors."

Well what are those now???

I thought they were navy (Yale blue) & crimson/dark red (harvard) as stated by the university web site?

Is someone finally getting some sense there & going back to "those" colors???!!!

good lord....

look up the pantone...yale is not navy no matter how much you want to beleive it...the point of the lighter blue is to the mimic the colors of our most popular teams that actually brought some tradition to smu...duh

Well if you want tradition Sky King, you have to go back to the 30's thru the early 50's when they used a darker red (crimson) & very little blue if that. Those are the teams that put SMOOO on the map. The 80's were nothing more than a tick on a mule's butt! DUUUUUHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

And "lord" is capitalized knot head! Show some respect!

NavyCrimson wrote:Well if you want tradition Sky King, you have to go back to the 30's thru the early 50's when they used a darker red (crimson) & very little blue if that. Those are the teams that put SMOOO on the map. The 80's were nothing more than a tick on a mule's butt! DUUUUUHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

And "lord" is capitalized knot head! Show some respect!

Their helmets were leather too! These pansies need to get back to their roots! Facemasks!?! This isn't for little boys!

What follows is instructive. Some of us define Yale Blue as a color that they remembered used by SMU in the past, but as this shows, Yale Blue is also more about an ideal than an actual pantone number. I suggest that while SMU has an official blue, just like Yale has an official pantone number, these colors are open to some interpretation. Since historically Yale's blue has been the subject of self reflection at Yale itself, and so should our usage have some self reflection. What SMU uses amounts to a color as an ideal, rather than any definitive hue. If our Pantone numbers do not match Yale's at the present, so be it.
True Blue
By Ellen Thompson
Yale began creating its own history from the moment its history began. "The Victorious Crew of 1859," a painting held in Sterling Memorial Library's Manuscripts and Archives, is prime evidence. The rowers in the picture are enjoying their moment, but not in the way the adult coaches in the painting would like. They are not taking themselves too seriously. They stand casually. Their oars extend comically upwards, dwarfing the heroes below. But the two elders flanking them understand that history is in the making. One man is turning towards the team, in a posture of battlefield gravity. The other man, identified as Commodore Page, holds a flag and faces inwards as well, barely at ease. The flag he holds may very well be the original source of Yale Blue. To most observers it is a relic of the past, but to University Printer John Gambell the flag taunts, "come and get me."


While the history of Yale Blue is mostly a subject of cocktail conversations among retired alums, for Gambell it is part of his job. In one month the Printer's Office will make a resource available to guide the design of Yale materials. This has forced them to ask the unthinkable: Should Yale Blue be reevaluated? Former University Printer Greer Allen has a range of possible blues in mind. Among them, he said, "My preference would be a color that appears dark, rich blue, which is identifiable from black." Tom Strong, who does graphic design for Yale, prefers a darker blue. For practical purposes there is an official Yale Blue, Pantone 289, but the working definition is another matter. Gambell describes it as "a strong, relatively dark blue, neither purple nor green, though it can be somewhat gray. It should be a color you would call blue."


If the definition of Yale Blue is vague, that is because its history is vague. The early sons of Eli, observing the blue of today, would go red in the face. "Old Yale forever! Ever green may she be!" said William Maxwell Evarts in 1853. Green was Yale's color for half a century, until 1894, when blue officially replaced it. Most responsible for the shift were the members of the "Victorious Crew." Former University Secretary Carl Lohmann traced Yale's blue to an original piece: "A Commodore's flag, a blue silk burgee, heavily fringed with white silk … was bought by Commodore Waite." Within the next decade the crew began to wear pants of dark blue and dark blue handkerchiefs, and their adoring fans wore blue to match.


The origin of Yale Blue was obscured, however, by historians' wish for a grander, longer tradition. In a 1918 article, Franklin Bowditch Dexter looked to the opening days of the Collegiate School for the source of the blue. A purchase of blue calico in 1708 and blue paint on the buildings of the original school were his proof. But Dexter sought a convenient continuity that never existed. His theories were debunked twenty years later.


In 1938 another painting was dedicated to the self-conscious creation of Yale history. This time the canvas was filled entirely by its subject, Yale Blue. Lohmann, the same man responsible for recording the 1853 appearance of Yale Blue, wanted to settle the question once and for all. Under the Office of the Secretary, a piece of silk was chosen to preserve Yale Blue, and a painting made to match it. There are two competing descriptions of the origins of this piece of silk. According to one story, the color was selected with the cooperation of alumni and the administration under Lohmann's direction. In another version, President Seymour bought the silk himself on a trip to Oxford. Given Lohmann's other efforts to enthrone Yale Blue, it seems likely that he is the author. But whatever the source, the color first appeared on President Seymour's inaugural robe. The piece of silk now resides in a vault in Woodbridge Hall and has guided every decision about Yale Blue since.


"Wouldn't it be nice to say it was this Yale Blue," Gambell says wistfully. Yet, even with the cloth in hand, he is still looking for the elusive color. In the mid 1950s the Secretary's Office launched a second search for Yale Blue. The silk and painting from 1938, while adequate for matching fabrics, were little help in matching ink. The Munsell color system, developed in 1952, was the most convenient way to establish a new standard. Rumor has it that when the University made its match and ordered 50 pounds of ink mixed, the ink company replied that they already had that ink in stock: It was the shade used by the Modess sanitary pad company. Whatever pink was put into the cheeks of the past administration has since faded, however, and for Gambell this is just one more lead. When all his facts are gathered, Gambell will decide if the current Pantone 289 is the best representation of Yale Blue, or if a more recently developed Pantone color is a closer match.


Silks fade and color systems change and Gambell is left considering the particulars of tradition. Which choice does better justice to Yale: keeping the current Pantone standard, or adjusting it toward a better bluer past? Greer Allen has had a lot of time to think about this. He has resolved that the question, "if ever settled once and for all, would leave Yale a bland, boring and uninteresting University. So my morning prayers regularly include the fervent hope, 'Dear Lord, please have the answers to the questions surrounding Yale Blue and the Vinland Map forever elude us!"

Very interesting. However, our official color is Yale blue and not SMU blue. Thus if we periodically need to check back with Yale for their current definition to stay up to-date...then, so be it.

There was a reason Yale blue and Harvard crimson were chosen as our school colors. It was to symbolize our intention to match those school's high academic standards. I assume we still strive to do so...thus to say our school colors are simply blue and red is to ignore the true meaning and purpose of our school colors.

And what if the school changes the shade of blue; officially?

Back to the topic at hand: where can I wrangle up one of these and how much?

PK wrote:Very interesting. However, our official color is Yale blue and not SMU blue. Thus if we periodically need to check back with Yale for their current definition to stay up to-date...then, so be it.

There was a reason Yale blue and Harvard crimson were chosen as our school colors. It was to symbolize our intention to match those school's high academic standards. I assume we still strive to do so...thus to say our school colors are simply blue and red is to ignore the true meaning and purpose of our school colors.

the thing is...yale doesn't actually wear their correct color on their football jersey so thats misleading.

smu diamond m wrote:Back to the topic at hand: where can I wrangle up one of these and how much?

scroll up

NavyCrimson wrote:Well if you want tradition Sky King, you have to go back to the 30's thru the early 50's when they used a darker red (crimson) & very little blue if that. Those are the teams that put SMOOO on the map. The 80's were nothing more than a tick on a mule's butt! DUUUUUHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

And "lord" is capitalized knot head! Show some respect!

that still doesn't change the fact that yale isnt navy.

lord,lord,lord,lord,lord,lord,lord,
lord,lord,lord,lord,lord,lord,lord,
lord,lord,lord,lord,lord,lord,lord,
lord,lord,lord,lord,lord,lord,lord

i think we should just make it royal and red...or maybe just stick to SOMETHING...i liked our last jerseys except for the awful color combo of dark red and dark blue on the helmets.

You are right...Yale blue is not navy, but it isn't royal blue either.



SMU is suffering from an identity crisis brought on by the school being run for too long by people with no vested interest in the University and it's traditions or understanding of our history. It's just a high paying job...period.

School colors don't "evolve"...they just get morphed by marketing types with no thought of school history or traditions. You don't see Texas, A&M, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Alabama, USC, UCLA...etc. screwing around with their school colors uniform every time they get a new coach. SMU on the other hand has no one in the administration safe guarding the schools traditions and so we wind up with our coach's favorite shade of blue and red. Hell, you can buy pink and baby blue SMU sweatshirts at the book store.

No one in his right mind would purposefully buy a burnt orange shirt except for Texas fans because it is Texas' school color. So even though you may just love royal blue, it is not one of SMU's school colors. If Texas fans can live with burnt orange, you as SMU fans should be able to live with Yale blue.

PK wrote:You are right...Yale blue is not navy, but it isn't royal blue either.



SMU is suffering from an identity crisis brought on by the school being run for too long by people with no vested interest in the University and it's traditions or understanding of our history. It's just a high paying job...period.

School colors don't "evolve"...they just get morphed by marketing types with no thought of school history or traditions. You don't see Texas, A&M, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Alabama, USC, UCLA...etc. screwing around with their school colors uniform every time they get a new coach. SMU on the other hand has no one in the administration safe guarding the schools traditions and so we wind up with our coach's favorite shade of blue and red. Hell, you can buy pink and baby blue SMU sweatshirts at the book store.

No one in his right mind would purposefully buy a burnt orange shirt except for Texas fans because it is Texas' school color. So even though you may just love royal blue, it is not one of SMU's school colors. If Texas fans can live with burnt orange, you as SMU fans should be able to live with Yale blue.

i agree that it would bet better to just use yale blue everythere as opposed to either royal or navy...i like to think that the new jersey we made just used to the two extremes to find a middle haha w/e that means....we aren't restricted to having a set color scheme for any amount of time so i expect that we will have a more up to date design next year.

Actually your jersey colors aren't far off at all. It looks really good.

The reason we used navy instead of Yale blue is the same reason Yale's team uses navy. Buying a uniform is similar to buying a suit. You can buy something off the rack or you can get a custom made suit. Unless you are a BCS school, you are going to buy an off the rack uniform. I would bet that UT pays a lot more for their uniforms than we do because of their custom color...and for the most part their uniforms are bigger.