Cartoon stick figure standing on a basketball and pointing at a whiteboard reading UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS – representing a blog post about Final Four 2026 trademark registrations for the University of Illinois.

Trademark: Fighting Illini

First Used: 1994

Registered: 1999

Current Owner: Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois [1]

Trademark Type: traditional trademark; word mark; design mark

Primarily Associated With: educational services, namely, conducting collegiate athletic exhibitions and games [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 the UConn Huskies. 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 Illinois Fighting Illini.

The University of Illinois was established in 1867 as the Illinois Industrial University, one of the public land-grant institutions created in the wake of the Morrill Act. The school opened the following year in Urbana and kept that original name until 1885, when it officially became the University of Illinois. The men’s basketball team started playing in 1905, and the program has since grown into one of the most accomplished in the Big Ten, with four Big Ten Tournament Championships (2003, 2005, 2021, 2024), six Final Fours (1949, 1951, 1952, 1989, 2005, 2026), and one retroactive national title in 1915 (finishing 16-0 that year). The school’s best season in the modern era came in 2005. Led by future lottery pick and NBA star Deron Williams, the team won 37 games before falling to North Carolina in the national championship game.

Unfortunately, the school’s trademark portfolio absolutely pales in comparison to its basketball success. Let’s get this out of the way first: the school doesn’t actually have a trademark registration for “University of Illinois.” The school’s only word mark of note related to the school’s name is FIGHTING ILLINI®, which is registered in connection with clothing; basketballs, golf accessories, and Christmas ornaments; and conducting collegiate athletic exhibitions and games [4].

Illinois’ design mark portfolio fairs slightly better. The University of Illinois Seal design mark [5] is registered in connection with educational services; namely, providing courses of instruction at the college and post-graduate level. The I Block Logo design mark [6] is registered for clothing, a variety of toys, games, sporting goods, and Christmas decorations, and conducting collegiate athletic exhibitions and games.

The Illinois Block Logo design mark [7] is registered in connection with clothing and a variety of toys, games, sporting goods, and Christmas decorations. And finally, the Illinois Stylized Logo design mark [8] is registered for a variety of clothing.

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.

FIGHTING ILLINI word mark trademark registration

University of Illinois Seal design mark trademark registration

[1] Fighting Illini, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, https://fightingillini.com/sports/mens-basketball.

[2] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,230,527, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=75415478&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[3] A Brief History of the University of Illinois, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA-CHAMPAIGN, available at https://archives.library.illinois.edu/features/history.php; Fighting Illini Men's Basketball History, FIGHTING ILLINI, available at https://fightingillini.com/sports/2021/4/30/mens-basketball-history; Illinois Fighting Illini Men's Basketball School History, SPORTS REFERENCE, available at https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/illinois/men/.

[4] Id. at 2.

[5] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1,694,942, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=74130855&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[6] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,315,363, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=75415479&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

7] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 3,692,259, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=77695312&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[8] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 5,095,860, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=86273483&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.