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We’ve featured the logos of some of the top college football programs recently, and the list wouldn’t be complete without including the Oklahoma Sooners. The program began in 1895 and has the best winning percentage (.763) of all major college teams since 1945. The team has featured legendary coaches like Bud Wilkinson, Barry Switzer and current coach Bob Stoops, and 5 Heisman Trophy winners (along with 6 players who were Heisman runnerups). The school has had 152 All American players over the years, including Tommy McDonald, Steve Owens, Billy Sims, Lee Roy Selmon, Brian Bosworth and Sam Bradford.

A logo used in the 1950s of another of the great college football powerhouse schools, the University of Southern California Trojans. USC has an amazing legacy, having won 11 national championships and also holding the distinction of having 472 players drafted into the NFL, more than any other school. The Trojans boast 6 Heisman Trophy winners, plus another awarded to Reggie Bush that was later vacated for NCAA rules violations. The school’s list of great players is just too long to list, but one amazing fact that shows the impact the Trojan football program has had on the pros is that there are 11 former USC players in the Hall of Fame in Canton, including Frank Gifford, O.J. Simpson, Anthony Munoz, Lynn Swann, Ronnie Lott, Marcus Allen, Bruce Matthews and Willie Wood.

Political correctness is rampant in our society today, and has even found its’ way into college sports. These logos are an example of that. The Miami of Ohio Redskins (left), existed until 1997, when the school bowed to political pressure and changed the name to RedHawks and began using the logo on the right. The school has been called the “Cradle of Coaches” because of the number of football coaches who worked there that went on to high profile careers, including Weeb Ewbank, Paul Brown, Sid Gillman, Woody Hayes, Ara Parseghian, Sean Payton and John Harbaugh.

Logo of the Florida State Seminoles, a legendary college football program that plays in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The ‘Noles flourished as a national powerhouse under long-time head coach Bobby Bowden, winning 2 national championships and setting a record by gaining a top 5 ranking 14 seasons in a row. Some notable FSU players include Ron Sellers, Fred Biletnikoff, Deion Sanders, Charlie Ward, Chris Weinke, Warrick Dunn, Derrick Brooks and kicker Sebastian Janikowski.

Not exactly a “classic” logo, but a good one to feature on Thanksgiving, is this logo of the New England College Pilgrims, an NCAA Division III school located in Henniker, New Hampshire that is best known for it’s mens’ and womens’ hockey programs, which both play in the Eastern Conference Athletic Conference (ECAC). In most other sports, the school competes in The Commonwealth Coast Conference.

Logo of another great college football powerhouse, the University of  Texas Longhorns. The program is one of the winningest in college football history, boasting 4 national championships, 49 bowl game appearances, 105 winning seasons out of 117 seasons of play, 129 All American players, and 2 Heisman Trophy winners – running backs Earl Campbell and Rickey Williams. Some other great players in Longhorn history include Bobby Layne, Tommy Nobis, Colt McCoy, Vince Young and Brian Orakpo.

This is an “alternate” logo of a college football program that is one of the most storied in the country, Notre Dame. The logo was used from 1963 until 1972, when the Fighting Irish were coached by the legendary Ara Parseghian. They won one of the 11 national championships the school has claimed in its’ history during this time frame, in 1966, when they finished 9-0-1, with the tie coming in a game against Michigan State that ended 10-10 and has been called “the game of the century”. Some notable players from this era are Terry Hanratty, Jack Snow, Nick Eddy, Jim Lynch, Walt Patulski, Joe Theismann and 1964 Heisman Trophy winner John Huarte.

 An “alternate” logo of the Denver Broncos football team from their early years in the American Football League. This logo was used on the players’ helmets from 1962 until 1965. The Broncos are one of pro football’s most stable franchises today, but struggled in the AFL days. In fact, they were the only original AFL team to have a losing record all 10 seasons of the league’s existence, and the only team among the league’s original franchises to never play for an AFL title. Some notable players from the era when this logo was on the helmets include Frank Tripucka, Lionel Taylor and Austin “Goose” Gonsoulin, all members of the team’s Ring Of Fame.

Logo of a Canadian junior hockey team that plays in the Ontario Hockey League, the Sudbury Wolves. The Wolves have been around since 1962, and a member of the OHL  since 1972. The club has never won a Memorial Cup, signifying the country’s junior championship, but has sent 77 players to the NHL, including Randy Carlyle, Pat Verbeek, Mike Foligno, Ron Duguay and Marc Staal.

Logo of the Denver Gold, a football team that played in the United States Football League from 1983 until 1985. The USFL was founded as a league that played in the spring, the off-season for the powerful NFL, and at first was not considered a threat to the older league. The Gold, in fact, had a good relationship with the Broncos’ NFL franchise, even hiring former Bronco coach Red Miller as its’ first head coach. Former Bronco QB Craig Morton also coached the team, which was a decent hit at the box office, leading the USFL in attendance for the entire league’s existence. The franchise was doomed when the USFL decided to try to switch to the fall and compete with the older league, and folded along with the rest of the USFL after the ’85 season.