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25.
Texas Tech Red Raiders
The Masked Rider, a Zorro-looking fellow atop a
black gelding, is the mascot. |
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24. Alabama Crimson Tide
Both the name Crimson Tide and the elephant come
from sports reporters writing about the football
team in 1907 and 1930, respectively. |
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23. Syracuse Orangemen
This has nothing to do with oranges, but the
school’s color, orange, which replaced pink in the
late 1800s. Reader
MJ
filled us in on the
story of the actual mascot. Until the late '70s,
it was an American Indian nicknamed the "Saltine
Warrior." From 1978 to 1990, it was a mix of mascots
from a guy in an orange tuxedo to "Egnaro the Troll"
until today's "Otto" - a big, orange ball - was
adopted. |
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22. Bucknell Bison
We couldn't find any reason why they are named the
Bison; but, how many bison are in Pennsylvania? |
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21. Stanford Cardinal
Once the “Indians,” Stanford changed its nickname to
the Cardinal (which it had been in the early part of
the century) in the 1970s after protests by American
Indian groups. Cardinal is the color, not the bird.
The infamous Stanford band created the present-day
dancing tree as the mascot; a tree is on the
official seal of Stanford. |
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20. Utah Utes
“Utes” represents the American Indians that have
inhabited the area of Utah for over 1,000 years.
Their mascot is “Swoop,” a red-tailed hawk that is
indigenous to the state of Utah. |
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19. Illinois Illini
“Illini” comes from the name of the American Indians
who inhabited the area we now know as Illinois (the
French coined the term “Illinois”). The mascot is
Chief Illiniwek; Illiniwek is the name of the
American Indian word for the group of Algonquin
tribes that the French later called the Illinois.
Chief Illiniwek has regularly come under fire for
being a racial stereotype. |
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18. Niagara Purple Eagles
We couldn't find any information as to why they are
the Purple Eagles, but we've never heard of an eagle
that's purple. |
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17. Oakland Golden Grizzlies
Oakland changed its name to the Golden Grizzlies
from the Pioneers when it entered Division 1
basketball in 1998. How many golden
grizzlies are in Michigan? |
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16. Eastern Kentucky Colonels
A reader, Will,
wrote in with the meaning of the nickname: "In
many Southern places, the owner of a large estate
was given the title of colonel because of the
ability to bring a robust economy to the area
through his business dealings. Even today, the title
of Kentucky Colonel is still being given by the
governor of the state. A person has to be nominated
by a third party and approved for the governor to
have his seal affixed to it."
One
reader wonders if it has to do with KFC's Colonel
Sanders - certainly looks like him. |
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15. George Washington Colonials
A reference to George Washington himself, who was an
officer in the Virginia Colonial militia. |
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14. Old Dominion Monarchs
King Charles II first coined the nickname “Old
Dominion” for Virginia due to their support during
the English Civil War. Old Dominion was once a
campus of the College of William and Mary and, when
they achieved their own four-year-college status,
they dropped the old “Braves” and adopted
“Monarchs,” in homage to King Charles II, who gave
the college its name. Big Blue the Lion is their
mascot. |
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13. Vermont Catamounts
“Catamount” is another name for one
of several cat species that live in the mountains. |
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12.
Central Florida Golden Knights
In 1970, the students of Florida
Technological University (which CFU was once known
as) voted to make the “Knights of Pegasus” their
nickname. Steve Sloan, the athletic director in 1993
evolved them into the “Golden Knights.” Their mascot
is Knightro. |
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11.
Pennsylvania Quakers
It's no secret where this mascot came from, as
Pennsylvania is the home of the Quakers in the
United States. So, why is it here: when was the last
time you heard of a ferocious Quaker? The answer,
from reader
Matt: check out the
Web site for the University of Pennsylvania
Oxymoronic Fighting Quaker Marching Band!! |
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10. New Mexico Lobos
“Lobos” is the Spanish word for wolves. |
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9. Louisiana Lafayette Ragin Cajuns
The school got its name in the 1970s when sports
information director Bob Henderson called the
football team the “Ragin’ Cajuns” because so many of
the players were from Louisiana. |
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8. UTEP Miners
We couldn't find any information on why they are the
Miners. One reader,
jsieds,
says that the school was originally the School of
Agriculture and Mining - thus, the Miners. |
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7. Wake Forest Demon Deacons
A local sports reporter referred to
the football team as “the demon deacons” because of
their ferocity in beating Duke in 1923. It stuck.
Before that, one of the nicknames of the school had
been the “Baptists.” |
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6. North Carolina Tar Heels
This nickname was given to North Carolinians since
the Civil War, when they would refuse to retreat,
digging their heels into the ground. The ram mascot
has been used since the 1920s when one of the
football team’s players was knows as “The Battering
Ram.” |
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5. Oklahoma Sooners
Before settlers were allowed to plant themselves in
Oklahoma, some went “sooner” than they were supposed
to. The nicknames of both the school and the state
are in homage to them. |
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4.
St. Mary's (Calif.) Gaels
A “Gael” is a Gaelic-speaking Celt
of Scotland, Ireland, or the Isle of Man. A sports
writer for the San Francisco Call-Bulletin dubbed
them “the galloping Gaels,” because many of the
players were Irish or Scottish by name, during a
very successful 1926 football season. The mascot,
which stands 10 feet tall, is named “Gael Force
One.” If it wasn't for Iona also being named the
Gaels, they would be our No. 1. |
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3. UAB
Blazers
The mascot is a green dragon. We can’t find why
exactly they are the Blazers. |
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2. Southern Illinois Salukis
A Saluki is a purebred dog, which was used for
hunting expeditions by the Egyptians. The area of
Illinois where SIU is located is known as “Little
Egypt.” |
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1.
Chattanooga Mocs
This is not short for Moccasins. The school was
nicknamed the “Moccasins” for decades, with several
images used as its logo including a snake, an
American Indian and even a moccasin shoe in the
1980s. It was changed to the “Mocs” in 1997 and the
Tennessee state bird, the mockingbird, was adopted
as the school mascot – his name is “Scrappy" and is
often riding a "Chattanooga Choo-Choo." |
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Other mascot resources:
Marc Sheehan’s Distinctive Mascot Collection
http://www.halcyon.com/marcs/mascot.html
Mascot.net
http://www.mascot.net/jinxlynx.html
Trips Tigers List of Mascots
http://www.tripstigers.com/home/home_mascots.htm
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