Odd mascot associations
Posted: May 29th, 2007, 6:07 pm
There's a thread started over on AGS by one of the Coastal guys about how horrible the Chanticleer mascot is and, since I was bored, I got to wondering what other mascots were out there that were attached to schools for bizarre reasons.
- UNC-Charlotte (now just Charlotte) teams are called the 49ers. Why? Because the school nearly closed in 1949.
UC-Irvine is the Anteaters. This mascot choice was based on a 'BC' comic strip.
West Florida goes by the Argonauts. However, their athletic logo consists of a nautilus shell.
UC-Santa Cruz became the Banana Slugs after the administration allowed a bunch of stoners to pick the mascot.
Dartmouth is the Big Green based on the school's official color. However, the Dartmouth SGA instituted its own unapproved mascot in '03 w/ the introduction of Keggy, an anthropomorphic beer keg.
Saint Louis is known as the Billikens. A billiken is a charm doll created by a Kansas City art teacher who is said to have seen the creature in a dream.
Wisconsin-Eau Claire is the Blugolds b/c their colors are, of course, blue and gold.
Ithaca was originally known as the Cayugans. The name was changed in the 1930's, however, due to an association with the NY Yankees, aka, 'the Bronx Bombers'.
Pacific (OR) is named the Boxers. The 'Boxer' in question is, apparently, a Chinese sculpture / incense burner that appears to be a cross between a dog and a dragon. The sculpture was given to the school as a gift sometime in the 1890's.
Albion College is the Britons. Britons are, of course, British people.
Alabama's Crimson Tide name is based on the 1907 Iron Bowl in which they played heavily-favored Auburn to a 6-6 tie in a sea of red mud.
Williams College in Massachusetts is known as the Ephs, short for 'Ephraim' which was the first name of the school's founder. Their actual mascot, however, is a purple cow.
Dayton is known as the Flyers in tribute to local residents Wilbur and Orville Wright.
Centenary renamed its teams the Gentlemen in an effort to clean up its image. The men's teams had a reputation for playing rough.
Tulsa became the Golden Hurricane in 1922 because Georgia Tech had already laid claim to the Golden Tornadoes.
Webster U. in Missouri is known as the Gorloks, a creature completely made up by staff and students and named for Gore and Lockwood Avenues, two streets that intersect at the heart of the campus.
McDaniel College in Maryland is known as the Green Terror. No one knows what that is.
UC -Riverside is known as the Highlanders b/c it is the highest in elevation of all the UC schools. The mascot was redesigned in 1998 to incorporate a bear with half of its face painted blue a la William Wallace in 'Braveheart'.
The Virginia Tech Hokie is a not a turkey. It is turkey-like.
Indiana is the Hoosiers. In its original etymology, a 'Hoosier' was 'an ignorant or rustic person'. The term was interchangeable w/ 'cracker'.
The TCU Horned Frogs are actually named after the Texas Horned Lizard.
Georgetown: Hoya is a shortening of the mixed Greek and Latin phrase, "Hoya Saxa!" translated to mean "What rocks!"
The Manhattan Jaspers are named for one of the professors, Brother Jasper, who is said to have invented the 7th-inning stretch.
The Austin Kangaroos are named for the practice of the upperclassmen trying underclassmen in impromptu courts and charging them with minor infractions. They are, in fact, known for their Kangaroo Kourts.
VMI is the Keydets possibly because certain individuals can't pronounce 'cadet'.
IPFW is known as the Mastodons b/c of a number of mastodon fossils unearthed nearby.
The Chattanooga mascot, the Mocs, was originally a reference to water mocassins -- a species of poisonous snake --, then a reference to American Indians -- mocassin as a shoe --, and, currently, to a mockingbird.
Southwestern College in Kansas is known as the Moundbuilders thanks to a yearly school tradition in which students and faculty stack rocks on a pile.
Elon, formerly the Fightin' Christians, is known as the Phoenix due to a fire in 1923 that destroyed much of the campus.
Hamline U is known as the Pipers, possible in reference to the children's tale of the Pied Piper of Hamlin.
Hofstra, formerly the Flying Dutchmen, is known as the Pride in reference to a fund-raising campaign as well as to the pair of lions that adorn the university seal.
The Evansville Purple Aces were named for playing cards.
The Loyola (Chicago) Ramblers mascot is currently a wolf. Formerly, it was a gypsy.
Wisconsin-Parkside is known as the Rangers. Their mascot, however, is a bear.
Wichita State is the Shockers. This reflects the gainful employment of many of the school's early students, shocking -- or harvesting -- wheat in the nearby fields.
The Oklahoma Sooners was originally a reference to those people who snuck into the Oklahoma Territory and staked land claims before the US government opened the territory up to claims. In other words, people who got to Oklahoma sooner.
Indiana State is currently the Fighting Sycamores, an allusion to the abundance of sycamore trees in the area. They used to be known as the Fighting Teachers.
Akron is known as the Zips, originally short for 'Zippers' -- a rubber overshoe manufactured in Akron that was nationally popular in the 1920's and '30's -- as well as for the actual zipper, which was invented in Akron.
