Duke blue

[gep]

Here is a cleaner link to the Duke Magazine article: http://dukemagazine.duke.edu/article/true-blue

...

From the linked article...

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In fact, there is an official Duke blue: It is designated No. 287 in the Pantone Matching System (PMS)
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And there is one thing it never has been, and never will be: Pantone 278, more commonly known as Carolina blue.
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So, Duke is 287. And unc? 278? I saw this fact in the original article, but couldn't find it again until the link above... Amazing "play" on PMS numbers...

[Ima Facultiwyfe]

From the linked article...

************
In fact, there is an official Duke blue: It is designated No. 287 in the Pantone Matching System (PMS)
************

************
And there is one thing it never has been, and never will be: Pantone 278, more commonly known as Carolina blue.
************

So, Duke is 287. And unc? 278? I saw this fact in the original article, but couldn't find it again until the link above... Amazing "play" on PMS numbers...

287>278 Just sayin'.
Love, Ima

[Indoor66]

287>278 Just sayin'.
Love, Ima

Finally, the TRUTH!

[devil84]

From the linked article...

************
In fact, there is an official Duke blue: It is designated No. 287 in the Pantone Matching System (PMS)
************

************
And there is one thing it never has been, and never will be: Pantone 278, more commonly known as Carolina blue.
************

So, Duke is 287. And unc? 278? I saw this fact in the original article, but couldn't find it again until the link above... Amazing "play" on PMS numbers...

Carolina Blue was 278 until last season, when they changed it to Pantone 542. I liked the 287 vs 278 symmetry, it seemed to say we are more alike than different, just different sides of the same coin -- the heart of the rivalry. However, since seeing how "the Carolina Way" has changed, they can g'head and change the color, too.

[Rich]

Carolina Blue was 278 until last season, when they changed it to Pantone 542. I liked the 287 vs 278 symmetry, it seemed to say we are more alike than different, just different sides of the same coin -- the heart of the rivalry. However, since seeing how "the Carolina Way" has changed, they can g'head and change the color, too.

That WSJ article has a fun little 5 question quiz about university colors, including Duke's. I only got 2 out of the 5 right -- Carolina Blue and Duke Blue. I missed on Michigan, Syracuse and Oklahoma.

[devildeac]

That WSJ article has a fun little 5 question quiz about university colors, including Duke's. I only got 2 out of the 5 right -- Carolina Blue and Duke Blue. I missed on Michigan, Syracuse and Oklahoma.

Guess it kinda/sorta depends on home and/or away color schemes and which schools include black in their school/uniform colors .

[grossbus]

Well, FWIW, I still prefer the dark blue that was in place when my parents were at Duke and which was still in use when my wife and I were there (my letter sweater is this blue). THAT was Duke Blue.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

Well, FWIW, I still prefer the dark blue that was in place when my parents were at Duke and which was still in use when my wife and I were there (my letter sweater is this blue). THAT was Duke Blue.

For several years, I've not liked the varying blue tones and the overall lightening of the blue. I realize that some of that was to accommodate the use of more black, but I don't think we did any black this season. So with a search, I found this old thread, and wanted to add to it.

I was just watching some highlights of the Butler game in 2010, and I was reminded how much I liked those uniforms...white with the thick panel down each side of the jersey and bottoms, with a much darker blue. I miss the dark, and the panels, and frankly, the Cheats have some football uniforms now that are darker than some of our hoops uniforms.

This is a disturbance in the force I'd like to see corrected.

[diablesseblu]

For several years, I've not liked the varying blue tones and the overall lightening of the blue. I realize that some of that was to accommodate the use of more black, but I don't think we did any black this season. So with a search, I found this old thread, and wanted to add to it.

I was just watching some highlights of the Butler game in 2010, and I was reminded how much I liked those uniforms...white with the thick panel down each side of the jersey and bottoms, with a much darker blue. I miss the dark, and the panels, and frankly, the Cheats have some football uniforms now that are darker than some of our hoops uniforms.

This is a disturbance in the force I'd like to see corrected.

Agree completely. Also, there seem to be varying shades of blue across the uniforms of different sports. I do not understand the difficulty of adhering to the official standard of Pantone 287.

[msdukie]

For several years, I've not liked the varying blue tones and the overall lightening of the blue. I realize that some of that was to accommodate the use of more black, but I don't think we did any black this season. So with a search, I found this old thread, and wanted to add to it.

I was just watching some highlights of the Butler game in 2010, and I was reminded how much I liked those uniforms...white with the thick panel down each side of the jersey and bottoms, with a much darker blue. I miss the dark, and the panels, and frankly, the Cheats have some football uniforms now that are darker than some of our hoops uniforms.

This is a disturbance in the force I'd like to see corrected.

The blue got lighter long before 2010 (and those uniforms had black trim all over them). The 2017 uniforms are no lighter than 2010. Now, go back to 2000 and that's a different story. Keep in mind that the materials that Nike uses always change as uniforms get lighter which can make them look different in different lighting.

[msdukie]

Agree completely. Also, there seem to be varying shades of blue across the uniforms of different sports. I do not understand the difficulty of adhering to the official standard of Pantone 287.

Actually, Nike uses the exact same color for all 27 sports' uniforms, keep in mind that different uniforms are made of different materials which may make the color look different in different lighting as well.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

The blue got lighter long before 2010 (and those uniforms had black trim all over them).

True, but I was just referring to the jerseys worn in the championship game...it was what appeared the be the historical Duke blue, with the wide color panels down the sides...not terribly different from the 91-92 look (although side by side I imagine there would be differences).

The color of the blue used on the floor at Cameron has gotten lighter also. I'll not ever stop pulling for Duke, and certainly not over this, but man, I really prefer the darker blue of days past...

If Pantone 287 is the official blue, so be it, but the Duke blue of the 60s-70s-80s-90s was DARKER than that blue. It was close to Navy blue. My mother was at Duke during the time the real original Iron Duke FB team was playing - the team that inspired the name Iron Dukes - that generation and the next couple all referred to Duke blue as navy blue or thereabouts. They almost used the terms interchangeably. These are people who went to every ACC Tournament and every FB game and most home BB games for almost 45 years. Their Duke gear was navy, or close.

I don't know when 287 was made official, or who made that call, but Pantone wasn't even a company until 1962. Intersting topic though. Put me down in the old school camp...about two shades darker than 287.

[53n206]

Interesting to me in that in my freshman year, 1953, one of the lines in our fight songs was "fight for the blue and white". Thus relating not to our colors alone, but what we were wearing on the courts and on the field. I thought that our colors were blue and white.

[sagegrouse]

Interesting to me in that in my freshman year, 1953, one of the lines in our fight songs was "fight for the blue and white". Thus relating not to our colors alone, but what we were wearing on the courts and on the field. I thought that our colors were blue and white.

Probably an iambic adaptation.

The message is probably upthread that deals with "official colors," but I believe the only officially adopted color is "Prussian blue," which is certainly what I learned in freshman orientation and traditions, some time in the last millennium. The football team in the 1960's wore uniforms consistent with that darker blue. When Nike got involved with Duke, it suggested and was allowed to offer a lighter, brighter blue as a market test. I believe more people bought shirts and shorts with the lighter color; hence, it is what we mostly see today.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

When Nike got involved with Duke, it suggested and was allowed to offer a lighter, brighter blue as a market test. I believe more people bought shirts and shorts with the lighter color; hence, it is what we mostly see today.

I can only wonder if that's due to the shade of blue, or improving Duke athletic fortunes and increased media coverage of all college sports, and Nike's superior marketing in general, or all three. I think the Nike contract was started in 2008, and since then the BB team has won a couple national titles, and that is about the exact time Cut has been increasing interest in the FB team. And Nike is the best marketer of all these companies.

My hunch is they'd have sold more of any blue due to all of the above.

In my anecdotal test of one family with 3 kids, 2 of whom are Duke fans, I purchase less gear because the lighter blue does not seem like "Duke" to me. But we remain Duke fans. And I can only wonder what the cheat fans think, with Fedora over there wearing actual DARK blue, what used to be Duke blue, at times with his football team.

Speaking of the FB team, wish they'd wear white at home during the hot sun games. Ask the Panthers, who wear white at home in the early season. It's a not insignificant factor. More and more NFL teams are doing this now.

[sagegrouse]

I can only wonder if that's due to the shade of blue, or improving Duke athletic fortunes and increased media coverage of all college sports, and Nike's superior marketing in general, or all three. I think the Nike contract was started in 2008, and since then the BB team has won a couple national titles, and that is about the exact time Cut has been increasing interest in the FB team. And Nike is the best marketer of all these companies.

My hunch is they'd have sold more of any blue due to all of the above.

In my anecdotal test of one family with 3 kids, 2 of whom are Duke fans, I purchase less gear because the lighter blue does not seem like "Duke" to me. But we remain Duke fans. And I can only wonder what the cheat fans think, with Fedora over there wearing actual DARK blue, what used to be Duke blue, at times with his football team.

Uhhhh... The different colors were offered for sale simultaneously, and the result was that the lighter, brighter blue was more popular with the "buying public." Sorry if my post was confusing.

Kindly,
Sage

[HereBeforeCoachK]

Uhhhh... The different colors were offered for sale simultaneously, and the result was that the lighter, brighter blue was more popular with the "buying public." Sorry if my post was confusing.

Kindly,
Sage

Ah, okay, sorry if I assumed you meant one thing when you meant another....so that's on me, not you. My bad. And thanks for clarifying.

But I gotta be honest with you - that is dismaying. I hate to see the real Duke blue sacrificed for immediate merchandising concerns. But they didn't ask me, and neither did Phil Knight.

[duke79]

I believe this is the "correct" Duke blue.

https://www.pantone.com/color-finder/287-C

I like this color...darker than the royal blue that we now see on some Duke uniforms but a shade or two lighter than a midnight or navy blue (the "Yale" color and my high school's color).

Ah, okay, sorry if I assumed you meant one thing when you meant another...so that's on me, not you. My bad. And thanks for clarifying.

But I gotta be honest with you - that is dismaying. I hate to see the real Duke blue sacrificed for immediate merchandising concerns. But they didn't ask me, and neither did Phil Knight.

I still agree with my original post above and I totally agree with your sentiments about how the "true" Duke blue is being manipulated just to sell more Nike merchandise (if that is the case?). LOL. Is nothing sacred anymore?

[53n206]

Is nothing sacred anymore?[/QUOTE]

Of course-cash is sacred, and cash talks, and cash is king!

[duke79]

Is nothing sacred anymore?

Of course-cash is sacred, and cash talks, and cash is king![/QUOTE]

LOL, as someone who is in the financial services field, I understand this ALL TOO WELL !!