University of Wisconsin–Madison School Colors
University of Wisconsin–Madison's school colors are Badger Red (#C5050C) and White (#FFFFFF). Wisconsin'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 Wisconsin colors
UW–Madison's traditional colors are cardinal and white. The brand guide calls the cardinal shade 'Badger Red'. Nobody recorded exactly when or why cardinal was chosen. A 1944 note in the Wisconsin Alumnus said the university had a color as early as 1881, and UW historian Arthur Hove concluded that cardinal and white were generally accepted as the school colors by the 1880s. Supporting that view, the student newspaper The Daily Cardinal began publishing in 1892. Black was added to the official palette in 1990, when the football team adopted the Motion W logo with its black shadow.
Sources: uwalumni.com · uwalumni.com · brand.wisc.edu
Photo: Bely Medved from Madison, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Wisconsin primary colors
| Color | HEX | RGB | CMYK | Pantone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Badger Red | #C5050C | 197, 5, 12 | 3, 100, 66, 12 | PMS 200 C | |
| White | #FFFFFF | 255, 255, 255 | 0, 0, 0, 0 | — |
Wisconsin secondary colors
| Color | HEX | RGB | CMYK | Pantone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dark Red (digital) | #9B0000 | 155, 0, 0 | — | — | |
| Light Gray (digital) | #E1E5E7 | 225, 229, 231 | — | — | |
| Black (digital) | #121212 | 18, 18, 18 | — | — |
Matching Wisconsin colors on clothing
Clothing sold as a given color can be noticeably off from Wisconsin'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 Wisconsin's official colors. The pieces below are the closest in-stock matches, out of 602 styles close to Badger Red.
Clothing in Badger Red #C5050C
Blank apparel whose fabric color is a close match to Badger Red, measured from the garment itself. 602 matching styles in stock.
Wisconsin colors: frequently asked questions
What are Wisconsin school colors?
University of Wisconsin–Madison's school colors are Badger Red (#C5050C) and White (#FFFFFF).
What is the hex code for Badger Red?
Badger Red is #C5050C (RGB 197, 5, 12, CMYK 3, 100, 66, 12).
What Pantone color is Badger Red?
Badger Red is PMS 200 C.
Why are Wisconsin's colors Badger Red and White?
UW–Madison's traditional colors are cardinal and white. The brand guide calls the cardinal shade 'Badger Red'.
Color values are taken from the official University of Wisconsin–Madison brand standards (source), checked October 2026. Sweatshirt Station is not affiliated with or endorsed by University of Wisconsin–Madison. 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.