Collegiate Athletic Nicknames

[VitaminD]

The Cornell Songs

Alma Mater

Far above Cayuga's waters

With its waves of blue,

Stands our noble Alma Mater,

Glorious to view

Chorus

Lift the chorus, speed it onward,

Loud her praises tell.

Hail to thee, our Alma Mater,

Hail, all hail, Cornell

Far above the busy humming

Of the bustling town,

Reared against the arch of Heaven,

Looks she proudly down

Interesting factoid about Cornell's alma mater ("Far Above Cayuga's Waters"): the music to their song has been borrowed by dozens of other schools to serve as the music for their alma maters. Among the schools I know of that use it are:

1. UNC (Hark The Sound)

2. Missouri

3. Vanderbilt

4. Georgia

5. Indiana

I know there are others; these I know because: 1. I went there; 2. co-worker went there; 3. friend went there; 4. friend's brother went there; 5. friend's father went there. One of my college roommates went to Cornell, and he heard it when he got his Ph. D. and couldn't figure out why.

[winghaz]

This is off the subject, but wouldn't it be fair to rate Cornell's alma mater as the most well-known alma mater (at least the tune is well known). Or in the top two along with "The Eyes of Texas"?

[ninersdd]

Why does CSU Fullerton have an elephant as its main logo?

[footballfiji]

Wiki-Time:

The choice of the elephant as the university?s mascot, dubbed Tuffy Titan, dates to the early 1960s when the campus hosted ?The First Intercollegiate Elephant Race in Human History.? The May 11 event attracted 10,000 spectators, 15 pachyderm entrants, a telegram from Richard M. Nixon and worldwide news coverage. Associated Press rated the story among the top 10 for 1962.

[LMU]

Why does CSU Fullerton have an elephant as its main logo?

Nickname and Mascot...

What exactly is a Titan?

"Why do you have an elephant for your mascot?"

Those are two of the first questions that arise when a Cal State Fullerton athletic team makes its inaugural visit to an area. While the relatively young institution carved out of the Orange County citrus groves may be too new for many traditions, there are some recognized legends.

"It was the students' decision in a vote," explained Dr. Ernest Becker, founding Dean of Students, of the nickname "Titans." "More than a hundred names were suggested, and the Student Council took on the job of narrowing the list down to a few for the purposes of an election. The vote was close, with Titans narrowly prevailing over Aardvarks and Rebels."

It was a unique student body, all upper division students until 1963. There were 453 of them, mostly female, in 1959, the first year of classes at what was then known as Orange County State College.

"Even when it was decided that `Titans' would be the nickname, there was confusion as to what it represented," said Becker. "I was thinking of a large mythological figure from Greek history, not unlike Tommy Trojan, but with perhaps straighter, more modern lines. In the same vein, the original dormitories were named Othrys Hall. There were others, however, who related the name to the Titan missile then in prominence."

Nothing official was done but then along came the "First Intercollegiate Elephant Race in Human History."

What began as a practical joke attracted elephants from universities around the nation and even Oxford from England. A crowd estimated at more than 10,000 people turned out on "Dumbo Downs" as the hastily graded field became known that spring afternoon in 1962.

To publicize the event, a circus-like elephant called Tuffy the Titan was used and it began appearing on sweaters and notebook covers around the campus. With no other mascot, the elephant was unofficially adopted. Several revisions of the caricature have been made to create a more tenacious Tuffy, or Titus as he also was called in an attempt to make him Greek. The costume that brings the mascot to life also has changed. Tuffy even attracted a female Tiffy in 1992.

The origin of the school colors also bears discussion. The students voted for royal blue and white, but the athletic equipment manager at the time thought orange was appropriate on uniforms for a school known as Orange County State College. The unofficial color was "adopted" and finally was formally acknowledged by the Athletics Council in 1987. A change to a navy blue was initiated in 1992 with a de-emphasis of the orange.

Imagine the UC Irvine Anteaters vs. the Fullerton Aardvarks. That would be something.

[dwboiler]

I always thought "cornfield sailors" would have been an interesting name for purdue. As an alum, I am glad they chose boilermakers because it is unique and really cool.

-dwboiler aka dwconfieldsailor

[ZoDogg34]

From www.arizona.edu

McKale came to Tucson in 1911 to accept a job at Tucson High School. His state championship baseball teams were known for their victories embarrassing the college teams at the UA and Tempe Normal. A student petition was presented to University President A. H. Wilde, asking him to hire McKale as athletic director and coach of all UA sports. Although he was opposed to the hiring, Wilde announced McKale's appointment on June 2, 1914, at a salary of $1,700 per year.

Wilde's successor, Rufus B. von KleinSmid was not much more enthused with the benefits of collegiate athletics, and records for 1915 show that McKale's total appropriation to run his program amounted to $835!

Despite meager resources and an inexperienced group of players, McKale's first football team made history. On Nov. 7, 1914, the team traveled to the west coast to play Occidental, then one of the reigning gridiron powers in California. Occidental won 14-0, but the loss was responsible for a great University athletic tradition -- the "Wildcats".

"They Fought Like Wildcats"

Covering the game for the Los Angeles Times was young correspondent Bill Henry. Henry, in his story wrote:

"The Arizona men showed the fight of wildcats and displayed before the public gaze a couple of little shrimps who defied all attempts of the Tigers to stop them"

When the news reached the campus the phrase "the fight of wildcats" was repeated over and over. The name stuck. The McKale legend was born.

[Gary]

From www.arizona.edu

McKale came to Tucson in 1911 to accept a job at Tucson High School. His state championship baseball teams were known for their victories embarrassing the college teams at the UA and Tempe Normal. A student petition was presented to University President A. H. Wilde, asking him to hire McKale as athletic director and coach of all UA sports. Although he was opposed to the hiring, Wilde announced McKale's appointment on June 2, 1914, at a salary of $1,700 per year.

Wilde's successor, Rufus B. von KleinSmid was not much more enthused with the benefits of collegiate athletics, and records for 1915 show that McKale's total appropriation to run his program amounted to $835!

Despite meager resources and an inexperienced group of players, McKale's first football team made history. On Nov. 7, 1914, the team traveled to the west coast to play Occidental, then one of the reigning gridiron powers in California. Occidental won 14-0, but the loss was responsible for a great University athletic tradition -- the "Wildcats".

"They Fought Like Wildcats"

Covering the game for the Los Angeles Times was young correspondent Bill Henry. Henry, in his story wrote:

"The Arizona men showed the fight of wildcats and displayed before the public gaze a couple of little shrimps who defied all attempts of the Tigers to stop them"

When the news reached the campus the phrase "the fight of wildcats" was repeated over and over. The name stuck. The McKale legend was born.

and became ASU's Bitch ever since

[Swashbuckler]

Here is a cool "almost" nickname story. I work at East Carolina Univ. and they are the purple and gold (although the color used is bright yellow--true gold like Wake uses would look much better, imho, gut that's for a different thread) Pirates. Historical reference for Pirates is there since Blackbeard plied the nearby waters of the NC coast back in the early 1700s--even lived for awhile in the the tiny town of Bath (oldest town in NC) whichis a 40 minute drive from Greenville. Supposedly there was an unofficial debate over using "Pirates" or"Blackbeards" for the nickname and some powers that be were afraid people wouldn't know what/who Blackbeards pertained to and went with the more generic sounding "Pirates." What could have been.........unique nickname, as in the ECU "Blackbeards" with black, purple and gold with the same mascot/logo package.

[GoValpo]

The Cornell Songs

Alma Mater

Far above Cayuga's waters

With its waves of blue,

Stands our noble Alma Mater,

Glorious to view

Chorus

Lift the chorus, speed it onward,

Loud her praises tell.

Hail to thee, our Alma Mater,

Hail, all hail, Cornell

Far above the busy humming

Of the bustling town,

Reared against the arch of Heaven,

Looks she proudly down

Interesting factoid about Cornell's alma mater ("Far Above Cayuga's Waters"): the music to their song has been borrowed by dozens of other schools to serve as the music for their alma maters. Among the schools I know of that use it are:

1. UNC (Hark The Sound)

2. Missouri

3. Vanderbilt

4. Georgia

5. Indiana

I know there are others; these I know because: 1. I went there; 2. co-worker went there; 3. friend went there; 4. friend's brother went there; 5. friend's father went there. One of my college roommates went to Cornell, and he heard it when he got his Ph. D. and couldn't figure out why.

wow i didnt know that, my high school uses that alma mater too, i didnt know Cornell started it, i thought UNC did, good find

[winghaz]

wow i didnt know that, my high school uses that alma mater too, i didnt know Cornell started it, i thought UNC did, good find

Heck, I didn't even know high schools had alma maters.

Mine didn't. Of course, out here on the prairie, where I was in the largest senior class ever (29 -- we would have been the largest graduating class, but three flunked out right before graduation), we just have school songs, not alma maters.

[iowahoo]

Here is a cool "almost" nickname story. I work at East Carolina Univ. and they are the purple and gold (although the color used is bright yellow--true gold like Wake uses would look much better, imho, gut that's for a different thread) Pirates. Historical reference for Pirates is there since Blackbeard plied the nearby waters of the NC coast back in the early 1700s--even lived for awhile in the the tiny town of Bath (oldest town in NC) whichis a 40 minute drive from Greenville. Supposedly there was an unofficial debate over using "Pirates" or"Blackbeards" for the nickname and some powers that be were afraid people wouldn't know what/who Blackbeards pertained to and went with the more generic sounding "Pirates." What could have been.........unique nickname, as in the ECU "Blackbeards" with black, purple and gold with the same mascot/logo package.

I recently saw Western Carolina for the fist time in a baseball game vs. The Citadel. I was surprised to see that Western Carolina sported nearly identical colors to East Carolina.

ANy idea why the two schools would have the same/similar colors? I woudl think whichever was younger would want to distance itself as much as possible from another directional in the same state.

[fntlry]

"The College Names of the Games" by Mike Lessiter (Contemporary Books, 1989) is kinda old, but an excellent resource for stories behind team nicknames. I think of it as my "bible".

[therebelas]

"The College Names of the Games" by Mike Lessiter (Contemporary Books, 1989) is kinda old, but an excellent resource for stories behind team nicknames. I think of it as my "bible".

I'd never heard of this book, but just ordered a used copy on Amazon for a whopping 46 cents ($3.95 including shipping). If anyone is interested, there are several more copies avaliable for less than a buck.

[illinirox1]

My favorite is the Tufts Jumbos, whose mascot is an elephant.

The colors are brown and powder blue.

Tufts Athletics

[Ben5]

I know Wake's nickname was covered in the link on the first page, but the colors were not. The university accepted Old Gold and Black because of Wake's Baptist heritage. The bible has a black cover with gold writing on the front and gold pages, so they adopted those as their colors.

Just about the only thing I learned in Religon 101.

[paynomind]

Interesting factoid about Cornell's alma mater ("Far Above Cayuga's Waters"): the music to their song has been borrowed by dozens of other schools to serve as the music for their alma maters. Among the schools I know of that use it are:

1. UNC (Hark The Sound)

2. Missouri

3. Vanderbilt

4. Georgia

5. Indiana

I know there are others; these I know because: 1. I went there; 2. co-worker went there; 3. friend went there; 4. friend's brother went there; 5. friend's father went there. One of my college roommates went to Cornell, and he heard it when he got his Ph. D. and couldn't figure out why.

Is that the one that sounds like, "I've been working on the railroad?"

I hear it all the time around here, and it makes me taste bile in the back of my throat. I hate UGA so bad.

[ColeJ]

My favorite is the Tufts Jumbos, whose mascot is an elephant.

The colors are brown and powder blue.

Tufts Athletics

oh my god.

those are the greatest uniform colors ever.

[VitaminD]

Is that the one that sounds like, "I've been working on the railroad?"

I hear it all the time around here, and it makes me taste bile in the back of my throat. I hate UGA so bad.

The only collegiate song that I know of that sounds like that is Texas's "The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You".

UGA's fight song shares music with The Battle Hymn of the Republic (very close to "I've Been Working On The Railroad", but not quite). I can understand the bile thing, although it's also a patriotic song, if you can retrain your mind around that - "glory, glory hallelujah!". (NC State's fight song is based on the WWI song "The Caissons Go Rolling Along", and I can't shake the NCSU connection either. ) And that's not uncommon either - I've heard a Confederate battle song that uses the same music as "Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech" (one of the best college fight songs, ever - and Tech's a conference rival to me...)

The alma mater used by UNC, UGA, Vandy et al. can be heard, of all places, in the movie "Dirty Dancing". I don't know what scene - one night, my wife was watching it in the next room when I heard my alma mater playing. I ran in and found her watching it, so apparently in the movie (toward the end?), someone's graduating from a fictitious school that also ripped off Cornell's alma mater.

[walkdesign]

Interesting stuff im finding out.  Thanks 4 all the info guys!  Keep it coming--about anything, as I'm sure I ain't the only one intersted in this kind of stuff. 

One question I have: I was told long ago that the reason UCLA adopted "Bruins" is because Cal was using Bears and UCLA didn't want the same name but at the same time wanted to "one-up" or "upstage" the "Golden Bears".

Anyone know how true that is, or IF it is?  (if it is true, could that also be why they have a somewhat similar color scheme?)

Don't know about the choice of U-Cal school nicknames, but the University of California system's school all wear some shades of blue and gold/yellow by design, including UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine, and so on. Obviously, not every UC school has a bear-related mascot/nickname (Aggies, Banana Slugs, Anteaters).

In a much smaller and less impressive way, Connecticut does the same. All of the Connecticut State schools are Blue and White to match the state.

UCONN

Western Connecticut

Southern Connecticut

Central Connecticut

Eastern Connecticut