Cal State Fullerton Titans

[rock55choc]

Not too long ago I asked if anyone knew why the Oakland A's used an elephant in some of their logos .... now I have noticed a second California team that has an elephant for a logo that I dont know the reasoning behind. I noticed while watching the Super Regionals that Cal State Fullerton uses some alternate logos with an elephant. I dont believe this logo was anywhere on their baseball uni's BUT I did see many banners, t shirts and posters in the audience with elephants on them. Does anyone know why Cal State Fullerton Titans use an elephant on some logos ?? Thanks if anyone has some help or answers.

[Fred T. Jane]

From http://fullertontitans.cstv.com/trads/csfu-trads.html Important stuff in bold.

"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.

[Dirwicky]

The "Tuffy" logo with the elephant is actually an older logo used by the athletic department in the late ninties through around 2004. Since then the athletic department has adopted the "Circle F" logo. The logos that are on this website are actually switched around. The only place the "Tuffy" logo is used nowadays is for their baseball and softball field logos. The loyal fans (CSUF is a HUGE commuter school) did take to our mascot, "Tuffy" & "Tiffy" the elephant and so you see Tuffy on a lot of banners and signs. And yes there are mascots dressed as elephants.

The switch was part of a rebranding campaign to switch from a Disney style logo to a more traditional one. Coincidentally, it took place around the same time the Angels (just 5 minutes south of the campus) rebranded themselves from Disney.

The funny joke is that there are many ways of restating Cal State Fullerton, CSUF, csFU, and of course the one most people enjoy is Cal State Disneyland. (A large portion of the student body have or is working for the rat.)

On a side note, with the end of the super regionals comes the arrival of the Golden Baseball League back to Fullerton. The Fullerton Flyers (named after the trains, which do commute through Fullerton) start up their home games after the NCAA Super Regionals at Goodwin Field by CSUF. The stadium is actually owned by the city of Fullerton eventhough it is located on the north side of the campus. The NCAA has traditionally penciled in Fullerton as a Regional College World Series site and they reserve the stadium for the Supers. The night after the last Super Regional game is scheduled, the Flyers then convert the stadium over for their use and play their first game within 24 hours.

Boy I bet you weren't expect that much information. FYI the "Titan Gym" until recently still had 1980 LA Olympics (30 miles away and in the OC) pictures/designs on the front gallery walls, since CSUF was the site for the team handball events.

Anyways, I hope this at some point answered your question.

[Dirwicky]

The "Tuffy" logo with the elephant is actually an older logo used by the athletic department in the late ninties through around 2004. Since then the athletic department has adopted the "Circle F" logo. The logos that are on this website are actually switched around. The only place the "Tuffy" logo is used nowadays is for their baseball and softball field logos. The loyal fans (CSUF is a HUGE commuter school) did take to our mascot, "Tuffy" & "Tiffy" the elephant and so you see Tuffy on a lot of banners and signs. And yes there are mascots dressed as elephants.

The switch was part of a rebranding campaign to switch from a Disney style logo to a more traditional one. Coincidentally, it took place around the same time the Angels (just 5 minutes south of the campus) rebranded themselves from Disney.

The funny joke is that there are many ways of restating Cal State Fullerton, CSUF, csFU, and of course the one most people enjoy is Cal State Disneyland. (A large portion of the student body have or is working for the rat.)

On a side note, with the end of the super regionals comes the arrival of the Golden Baseball League back to Fullerton. The Fullerton Flyers (named after the trains, which do commute through Fullerton) start up their home games after the NCAA Super Regionals at Goodwin Field by CSUF. The stadium is actually owned by the city of Fullerton eventhough it is located on the north side of the campus. The NCAA has traditionally penciled in Fullerton as a Regional College World Series site and they reserve the stadium for the Supers. The night after the last Super Regional game is scheduled, the Flyers then convert the stadium over for their use and play their first game within 24 hours.

Boy I bet you weren't expect that much information. FYI the "Titan Gym" until recently still had 1980 LA Olympics (30 miles away and in the OC) pictures/designs on the front gallery walls, since CSUF was the site for the team handball events.

Anyways, I hope this at some point answered your question.