Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey School Colors
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey's school color is Rutgers Red (#CC0033). Rutgers' brand standards define 20 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 Rutgers colors
Scarlet was first proposed as Rutgers' color in the student newspaper, The Targum, in May 1869 and was adopted by students soon after. According to Rutgers Athletics, students wanted orange to honor the college's Dutch heritage but could not find orange cloth locally, while scarlet ribbon was striking and easy to get. A Rutgers 250th-anniversary magazine piece also cites a legend that scarlet stood for the blood of Revolutionary War spy Nathan Hale; accounts differ. The trustees made scarlet the official school color in 1900.
Sources: scarletknights.com · ucmweb.rutgers.edu
Photo: Zeete, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Photo: GATORFAN2525, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Kithira, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Rutgers primary colors
| Color | HEX | RGB | CMYK | Pantone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rutgers Red | #CC0033 | 204, 0, 51 | 0, 100, 81, 4 | PMS 186 | |
| Black | #000000 | 0, 0, 0 | 0, 0, 0, 100 | — | |
| White | #FFFFFF | 255, 255, 255 | 0, 0, 0, 0 | — |
Rutgers secondary colors
| Color | HEX | RGB | CMYK | Pantone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dark Red | #8E0D18 | 142, 13, 24 | 27, 100, 100, 29 | — | |
| Dark Gray | #222222 | 34, 34, 34 | 72, 66, 64, 72 | — | |
| Mid Gray | #666666 | 102, 102, 102 | 60, 51, 51, 20 | — | |
| Gray | #D8D8D8 | 216, 216, 216 | 14, 11, 11, 0 | — | |
| Light Gray | #EFEFEF | 239, 239, 239 | 5, 3, 3, 0 | — | |
| Teal | #00626D | 0, 98, 109 | 91, 47, 47, 20 | — | |
| Mid Teal | #52A2A9 | 82, 162, 169 | 68, 20, 33, 0 | — | |
| Pale Teal | #87C3BE | 135, 195, 190 | 47, 6, 27, 0 | — | |
| Light Teal | #E3F3EF | 227, 243, 239 | 10, 0, 6, 0 | — | |
| Blue | #007FAC | 0, 127, 172 | 86, 41, 17, 1 | — | |
| Mid Blue | #7DBFD6 | 125, 191, 214 | 49, 9, 11, 0 | — | |
| Pale Blue | #92D6E3 | 146, 214, 227 | 40, 0, 10, 0 | — | |
| Light Blue | #DEF0F9 | 222, 240, 249 | 11, 1, 1, 0 | — | |
| Yellow | #EBB600 | 235, 182, 0 | 9, 28, 100, 0 | — | |
| Mid Yellow | #F5D36A | 245, 211, 106 | 4, 15, 70, 0 | — | |
| Pale Yellow | #FCE48B | 252, 228, 139 | 12, 8, 55, 0 | — | |
| Light Yellow | #FFF6D4 | 255, 246, 212 | 0, 2, 19, 0 | — |
Matching Rutgers colors on clothing
Clothing sold as a given color can be noticeably off from Rutgers'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 Rutgers's official colors. The pieces below are the closest in-stock matches, out of 1132 styles close to Rutgers Red.
Clothing in Rutgers Red #CC0033
Blank apparel whose fabric color is a close match to Rutgers Red, measured from the garment itself. 1132 matching styles in stock.
Rutgers colors: frequently asked questions
What is Rutgers' school color?
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey's school color is Rutgers Red (#CC0033). The official brand palette also includes Black and White as primary colors, plus 17 more secondary and supporting colors.
What is the hex code for Rutgers Red?
Rutgers Red is #CC0033 (RGB 204, 0, 51, CMYK 0, 100, 81, 4).
What Pantone color is Rutgers Red?
Rutgers Red is PMS 186.
Why is Rutgers' color Rutgers Red?
Scarlet was first proposed as Rutgers' color in the student newspaper, The Targum, in May 1869 and was adopted by students soon after. According to Rutgers Athletics, students wanted orange to honor the college's Dutch heritage but could not find orange cloth locally, while scarlet ribbon was striking and easy to get.
Color values are taken from the official Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey brand standards (source), checked October 2026. Sweatshirt Station is not affiliated with or endorsed by Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. 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.