Providence College School Colors
Providence College's school colors are Providence Black (#000000) and White (#FFFFFF). Providence's brand standards define 5 colors in all; every official HEX, RGB, CMYK and Pantone value is listed below, along with the story of how the colors were chosen.
History of the Providence colors
Providence College's black and white come from the habit of the Dominican Order, the friars who run the college. According to the athletics department, the white of the habit stands for the divine truth the order preaches and for purity of life, while the long black cloak (the cappa) worn over it, which earned English-speaking Dominicans the name 'Blackfriars,' stands for the sacrifice and penance needed to defend that truth. Athletics lists black, white and silver as its official colors. The college's first athletics mascot, Friar Boy, was a black-and-white Dalmatian chosen because the name Dominican playfully translates as 'watchdogs of the Lord.'
Sources: friars.com · news.providence.edu
Photo: Andrew nyr, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Photo: John Phelan, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Providence primary colors
| Color | HEX | RGB | CMYK | Pantone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Providence Black | #000000 | 0, 0, 0 | 0, 0, 0, 100 | — | |
| White | #FFFFFF | 255, 255, 255 | 0, 0, 0, 0 | — |
Providence black, white and silver
Providence College's brand colors are black and white, which Friars athletics traces to the black-and-white habit of the Dominican order that runs the college. Athletics also uses silver; the brand palette's Cool Gray is listed as Pantone 877 Metallic or Cool Gray 7.
Providence secondary colors
| Color | HEX | RGB | CMYK | Pantone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cool Gray | #A3A19E | 151, 152, 154 | 0, 0, 0, 45 | PMS 877 Metallic PMS Cool Gray 7 |
Additional Providence palette colors
| Color | HEX | RGB | CMYK | Pantone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Providence Gold | #BD9E5E | 189, 158, 94 | 20, 30, 70, 10 | PMS 871 Metallic | |
| Harkins Yellow | #FCFADE | 251, 250, 224 | 1, 0, 15, 0 | — |
Matching Providence colors on clothing
Clothing sold as a given color can be noticeably off from Providence's official values, and supplier color codes describe the dye target rather than the finished fabric. So we measured the actual fabric color of every garment we carry from product photos and fabric swatches, then compared it to Providence's official colors. The pieces below are the closest in-stock matches, out of 1328 styles close to Cool Gray.
Clothing in Cool Gray #A3A19E
Blank apparel whose fabric color is a close match to Cool Gray, measured from the garment itself. 1328 matching styles in stock.
Providence colors: frequently asked questions
What are Providence school colors?
Providence College's school colors are Providence Black (#000000) and White (#FFFFFF).
Why are Providence's colors Providence Black and White?
Providence College's black and white come from the habit of the Dominican Order, the friars who run the college. According to the athletics department, the white of the habit stands for the divine truth the order preaches and for purity of life, while the long black cloak (the cappa) worn over it, which earned English-speaking Dominicans the name 'Blackfriars,' stands for the sacrifice and penance needed to defend that truth.
Color values are taken from the official Providence College brand standards (source), checked October 2026. Sweatshirt Station is not affiliated with or endorsed by Providence College. We sell blank apparel in matching colors; no logos or trademarks are sold. Photos are used under their Creative Commons or public domain licenses and are credited above.