Arizona’s rich history and diverse landscapes not only shape the nicknames of its high school sports teams but also contribute to creating vintage-style logos. A unique vintage logo stands out in design, and through a one-of-a-kind school nickname. The top five schools from across the state have a retro brand identity that sets them apart from other schools in Arizona. All the high schools mentioned in the “Honorable Mentions” section of the blog have brands similar to Arizona State University's. Inspired by the Sun Devil mascot, these schools have modeled their style after the popular state university.
Top Five
Among the top five Arizona high schools with the best vintage logos, several feature fictional mascot characters representing their brand, each varying in design yet consistently showcasing their vintage style.
- BASIS Flagstaff Yetis (Flagstaff, AZ)
- Description: The logo depicts a scholarly yeti wearing a scarf and glasses, holding books to represent BASIS Flagstaff, a public charter school located in a colder climate.
- Opinion: It's refreshing to see BASIS Flagstaff uniquely embrace a yeti mascot, cleverly designed with scholarly attributes like glasses and books to reflect its academic focus.
- Coronado High School Dons (Scottsdale, AZ)
- Description: The logo features a don in a side profile, styled as a refined gentleman, reflecting Coronado High School's mascot and the historical Spanish nobility associated with the title 'Don'.
- Opinion: When I think of 'Dons,' the University of San Francisco comes to mind, but they don't showcase a 'Don' in their logo like Coronado High School does with its mysterious side-profiled mascot.
- Grand Canyon High School Phantoms (Grand Canyon, AZ)
- Description: The emblem features a royal blue, red, and white faceless phantom with crossed arms, wearing Grand Canyon High School's colors, providing a spooky and spirited mascot.
- Opinion: The logo's simplicity gives off an effectively eerie and intimidating aura to the faceless phantom, a mascot choice uncommon for a sports team specifically at the high school level.
- The Odyssey Institute Minotaurs (Buckeye, AZ)
- Description: The minotaur, combining a bull's head with a human body from Greek mythology, stands with its arms crossed and snarling, embodying fierce competitiveness.
- Opinion: It’s cool to see Odyssey’s athletic program feature a minotaur in a vintage-style logo, especially since it’s rare for teams to use Greek mythical characters as mascots.
- Salome High School Frogs (Salome, AZ)
- Description: The logo presents a frog in an athletic pose, rocking a vintage-style white sweater with a green 'S' for Salome, topped off with a classic old-school cap.
- Opinion: This logo perfectly embodies everything a vintage style emblem is with a frog in an athletic stance, dressed in a retro sports outfit including a sweater and hat.
Honorable Mentions
The honorable mentions included vintage demon and devil logos from various Arizona high schools. The recurring demonic imagery may be a nod to the iconic Sparky the Sun Devil, the mascot of Arizona State University. One logo was nearly identical to Sparky's, though flipped and in a different color scheme.
- Demons/Devils:
- Dysart High School Demons (El Mirage, AZ)
- Page High School Sand Devils (Page, AZ)
- River Valley High School Dust Devils (Mohave Valley, AZ)
- Santa Cruz Valley Union High School Dust Devil (Eloy, AZ)
- Sunnyside High School Blue Devils (Tucson, AZ)
- Valley Union High School Blue Devils (Elfrida, AZ)
