Blue Light Special

On a clear night, the lighted A at the top of Old Main tower can be seen from most places in Cache Valley.

Most nights, the A is lit up with a white light. But occasionally, it turns blue and it is a signal to let the rest of the world know that the university has done something significant. Be it winning an athletic event, starting a new term or mourning a loss, the blue lights on the tower shine for special occasions.

“It gives more kinship with being an Aggie,” Stanley Kane, director of facilities planning and design, said. “I think it is a great idea to help students and the community have hometown pride in the local achievements of the university.”

The first time the A appeared over Utah State University was in 1909. Maren Cartwright, public relations specialist at USU, said the first senior class gift was an A placed on the west side of Old Main.

When the north end of Old Main caught on fire in 1984, the university remodeled the building in three phases. In 1997-98, as part of the final phase of the reconstruction, the A was rebuilt.

The new A, Kane said, was redesigned based on an idea from a student.

“It was something he had seen at another university,” Kane said of the student. “He wanted something to show Aggie pride.”

According to the Blue Light policy, the A is turned blue to “celebrate wins of all university varsity team sports (those teams engaged in head-to-head competition).”

It lists several of the sports like basketball and football.

Sporting events, like track, are not included on the list because they are individual competitions.

Cartwright said the A is also turned blue to celebrate the first day of each semester, Founder’s Day and on Homecoming Eve.

-aedmunds@cc.usu.edu