University of Arizona
Trademark: Arizona Wildcats
First Used: 1950
Registered: 2003
Current Owner: The Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona [1]
Trademark Type: traditional trademark; word mark; design mark
Primarily Associated With: clothing, namely, t-shirts, sweat shirts, sweat pants, shorts, belts, socks and caps [2]
Brief (and likely incomplete) History [3]:
MARCH MADNESS® is winding down and the FINAL FOUR® is set. Congrats to the Illinois Fighting Illini, Arizona Wildcats, Michigan Wolverines, and UConn Huskies for surviving to the final weekend. The games don’t start until next weekend, but let’s get an early jump on some trademark portfolios! Today, let’s look at some history and trademark registrations for the Arizona Wildcats.
The University of Arizona was established in 1885 by the territorial legislature, making it the first university founded in the Arizona Territory, and its first building, Old Main, was completed in 1890. The men’s basketball team began play in 1904, and the program has since grown into one of the most successful in the West, with five Final Four appearances (1988, 1994, 1997, 2001, 2026) and one national championship. That solo championship came in 1997, when Lute Olson’s Wildcats became the first team ever to beat three No. 1 seeds in a single NCAA tournament on the way to the national title. Led by future NBA players Mike Bibby, Michael Dickerson, and Jason Terry, Arizona capped that run with an 84-79 overtime win over Kentucky in the national championship game.
Arizona owns a variety of word mark registrations covering the school’s name, mascot, and slogans, including THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA® [4] (for sporting accessories, entertainment and education services, and many others), ARIZONA® [5] (for hats, clothing, and conducting athletic events, among others), ARIZONA WILDCATS® [6] (for clothing), CATS® [7] (for clothing and promotion of the university's sports teams), and BEAR DOWN® [8] (for outerwear).
The school also owns some unique and recognizable design mark registrations, including the Arizona Wildcats Logo design mark [9], the Arizona Desert Logo design mark [10], the A Block Logo design mark [11], the Cowboy Cat Head design mark [12], the Cowboy Cat design mark [13], the Wildcat Logo design mark [14], and the Día de los Muertos Wildcat Logo design mark [15], all registered in connection with clothing and other goods and services.
Interested in matchups from other years? Check out our post on the 2025 Final Four, featuring the Duke Blue Devils, Houston Cougars, Auburn Tigers, and champion Florida Gators.
Interested in learning more about other 2026 sporting events? Check out our 2026 posts on the College Football National Championship, Team USA in the Winter Olympics, and the Super Bowl.
Copyright © 2026 by Illustrated IP, LLC. All rights reserved.
[1] Men’s Basketball, ARIZONA WILDCATS, https://arizonawildcats.com/sports/mens-basketball.
[2] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,679,963, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=76263894&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[3] About Arizona, UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA, available at https://www.arizona.edu/about; U of A History, PLEXUSS, available at https://plexuss.com/u/university-of-arizona-u-of-a/history; University of Arizona, BRITANNICA, last updated March 13, 2026, and available at https://www.britannica.com/topic/University-of-Arizona; Arizona Wildcats Men's Basketball School History, SPORTS REFERENCE, available at https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/arizona/men/; Men's Basketball History Page, ARIZONA WILDCATS, available at https://arizonawildcats.com/sports/2016/6/28/mens-basketball-history-page.aspx.
[4] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 3,574,619, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=77257826&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[5] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1,733,158, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=74090504&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[6] Id. at 2.
[7] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1,720,369, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=73663833&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[8] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1,508,238, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=73663838&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[9] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1,504,908, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=73663831&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[10] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1,504,909, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=73664017&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[11] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1,685,998, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=74090511&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[12] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1,511,025, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=73664019&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[13] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1,819,985, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=74333708&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[14] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 5,965,031, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=88247453&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[15] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 7,043,222, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=88326252&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.