NOVA Mascot

The NOVA Nighthawk mascot is used to promote NOVA’s athletics, some competitive student activities, and student life activities. It should not be associated with NOVA’s academic mission and operation and should not be used in place of the College logo. More in-depth information about how to use the mascot is available NOVA Mascot Logo Guidelines, but here are some overall guidelines to keep in mind:

Who Can Use the Nighthawk Mascot Logo

NOVA’s athletics and student life departments or those representing those activities can use the Nighthawks logo at their discretion but may not give permission to other units at NOVA to use the logo. All other use of the NOVA Nighthawk mascot logo must be approved by NOVA’s central marketing office, who can be reached at NOVAGraphics@nvcc.edu. Generally speaking, these are the only situations where permission to use the NOVA Nighthawk mascot logo will be granted outside of athletics:

  • For teams that represent NOVA in inter-collegiate competitions such as music, non-sport games, academic-related competitions, etc. 
  • Partnerships that involve NOVA athletics but are not directly managed by the athletics department.
  • Materials or swag that are for student life activities.

Again, even if your organization meets these criteria, you must get approval to use the NOVA Nighthawks mascot logo from NOVA’s central marketing office. This includes all usage of the NOVA Nighthawks mascot logo, whether it’s intended for internal or external audiences, and regardless if it is used in print, online or on merchandise items such as tee-shirts or pens. 

Using the NOVA Nighthawk Mascot Logo Properly

Even if permission to use the NOVA Nighthawk mascot logo is granted, it must be used properly. To that end, keep the following guidelines in mind:

  • Never use the NOVA logo and NOVA Nighthawks mascot logo together.
  • Always use the NOVA wordmark with the NOVA Nighthawks mascot logo. The wordmark shouldn’t appear next to the logo, however.
  • Typically, the NOVA Nighthawks mascot logo should appear at the top of a document or item, and the wordmark should appear at the bottom. On a piece with more than one page, the NOVA Nighthawk mascot logo should appear on the first page and the wordmark on the back.
  • The following is never allowed with the NOVA Nighthawks mascot logo:
    • Combining it with any other NOVA logo. 
    • Combining it with the name of any department, office or club. 
    • Displaying it on a background that provides inadequate contrast or is overly busy. 
    • Displaying it on a dark background.
    • Reversing or changing its colors. 
    • Altering its proportions or otherwise cropping, skewing, bending or distorting the logo. 
    • Adding, removing or moving elements.
    • Re-writing or otherwise changing the words “NOVA” or “Nighthawks” with any other text, changing the fonts, or altering the letter spacing.
    • Adding effects or shadows. 
    • Cropping the logo.

Further guidelines for using the NOVA Nighthawks mascot logo are located here. Because of the complexity of using it, we recommend contacting NOVA’s central marketing office at NOVAgraphics@nvcc.edu before attempting to use it.