What nicknames do American colleges and universities have? Where did they come from?

Harvard University – Crimson

Harvard University’s nickname is Crimson (or blood red), which comes from a rowing race in 1858. In that game, two Harvard team members distributed crimson scarves to the spectators who came to the river to cheer for Harvard, making the cheering crowd on the river bank even louder. Later, cameras in various universities in the United States began to have their own nicknames, and "Crimson" became the nickname of Harvard University.

Yale University – Bulldog (Yale Bulldog)

Although the nicknames and mascots of various universities in the United States do not correspond one-to-one, Yale University’s nickname "Bulldog" does It's their mascot. In the late 19th century, mascots began to appear in intercollegiate American football games in various schools in the United States. At the time, two of Yale’s archrivals—Princeton and Harvard—both had mascots. As a top powerhouse at the time, Yale students also felt that it should have a mascot. One day in 1889, team member Andrew Graves passed by a blacksmith shop and saw a bulldog sitting at the door. He thought it was cute, so he bought it and brought it to every game. . This bulldog gradually gained recognition from Yale University students and fans and became the mascot of Yale University. Over time, Bulldog also became Yale's nickname.

Princeton University – Tigers

In 1867, members of the Princeton University (then called the College of New Jersey) baseball team played against their old rival Yale University. Wearing an orange ribbon with his name embroidered in black fonts. The next year, the school issued a statement recommending that other teams, including the football team, also wear orange ribbons with the Princeton name embroidered in black. In a football game in 1876, the team wore black jerseys with orange edges. As a result, orange and black became the representative colors of Princeton University. "Tiger" became Princeton's nickname in the 1880s because the orange and black clothing looked like a tiger. In 1923, a Princeton alumnus captured a small Bengal tiger in the wild while traveling in India. He sent the tiger back to school and kept it at the New Jersey Zoo, sparking a tiger craze. Since then, Tiger has become Princeton University's official nickname.

University of Pennsylvania – Quakers

The University of Pennsylvania is located in Philadelphia, the largest city in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania was the colony of Pennsylvania before the founding of the United States, and "Pennsylvania" means "Pennsylvania's Wood" because Pennsylvania was originally a territory given to the noble William Penn by the King of England. William Bean was a Quaker. Quakers are a sect that believes in equality, opposes slavery, and advocates protecting the environment. After William Bean came to North America from England, he began to promote Quakerism in North America. Philadelphia was Bean's home base during his missionary days. For this reason, the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia earned the nickname "Quaker."

Columbia University – Columbia Lions

Columbia University was originally founded by King George II of England and was known as King's College in New York. The school uses "Lion" as its nickname because the lion is the symbol of England's royal family (referring to the emblem of the England football national team - the Three Lions (miao)).

Dartmouth College – Dartmouth Big Green

Because Dartmouth College is located in the mixed forest in northern New England, the mountains outside the campus are green, so in 1866 The school uses green as its representative color. In the early 20th century, Dartmouth was known as "Indian," and the school's teams and media were happy to use Indian as their nickname. However, around 1970, the United States recommended that universities stop using words related to Aboriginal people as their nicknames to avoid unnecessary racial discrimination disputes. Many schools have changed their nicknames (for example, Eastern Michigan University changed its name from "Huron" to "Eagles"), but many schools have not changed their names (for example, Central Michigan University is still called "Chippewa", Florida State The university is still called "Seminole").

Dartmouth College decided to change its name and use its own color as its nickname, "Big Green," in response to its old rival Cornell University's "Big Red." Today, Dartmouth's "Indian" nickname still lives on in the lyrics of Penn State's song Hail to the Lions (Pittsburgh with its Panthers, and Penn her red and blue; the Dartmouth with its Indians, and Yale her bulldog too .).

Cornell University – Cornell Big Red

The colors of Cornell University are red and white, with red being the main color. In 1905, Romellin Berry, an alumnus of Cornell University, wrote a cheering song for the university's American football team. One of the lyrics said "The big, red team", which means "this powerful team." Red Team”. Later, during the singing process, this sentence was misunderstood as "The Big Red team". Therefore, Cornell University’s nickname is Big Red. Now, Big Red is also the name of Cornell University’s mascot, the brown bear.

Brown University – Brown Bears

Brown University’s nickname “Brown Bears” comes from its mascot. In 1904, a statue of a brown bear's head was placed in front of the school's Union Building. Inspired by that statue, the students found a brown bear named Helen as their mascot before a 1905 game against Dartmouth College. In 1921, Helen's successor, another brown bear, Brono, was brought to the arena. Later until the 1960s, the Browns used a live brown bear as their mascot, and naturally they also got the nickname "Brown Bear".

Northwestern University – Wildcats

Northwestern University was originally nicknamed the "Purple Men" because their team's home uniforms were purple. In 1924, a columnist for the Chicago Daily News said in an article describing the American football derby between Northwestern University and the University of Chicago that "the players on Northwestern's defensive line formed a purple wall like ferocious wildcats." ". When picked up by other media outlets, Northwestern's defense was described as "a wall of purple wildcats." The name "Wildcat" was so popular among students and alumni that the school's official nickname became "Wildcat." Decades later, as more and more universities acquired nicknames, the name "Wildcat" was no longer exclusive to Northwestern University (the University of Arizona, Kansas State University, University of Kentucky, etc. were all called Wildcats), so in 1972 , students at Northwestern University changed the school's nickname from "Wildcats" to "Purple Thunderbolts." However, the term "Northwestern University Wildcat" has become so popular that Northwestern University's nickname is still "Wildcat" (however, the official nickname is already "Purple Thunder").

University of Chicago – Maroon (Chicago Maroons)

Generally speaking, maroon is one of the official colors of the University of Chicago. The school's nickname is based on the color. There is also a saying that the nickname comes first and then the color. Because besides maroon, Maroon also means an isolated island. The school uses Maroon as a nickname, which has the effect of describing itself as an "isolated island" and by extension a "land of freedom". Then Maroon happens to be another color, so one of the school's representative colors is maroon.

University of Michigan – Michigan Wolverines

Before the founding of the United States, the Michigan area was part of New France and a French colony. French colonists brought wolverine skins from the north, passed through the Michigan area, and sold them to the south. Therefore, southerners called Michigan, through which the French came, "Wolverine Land." Later, Michigan became a state and joined the United States because of a conflict with the southern state of Ohio over the border issue. During the negotiations, the Ohio representatives disparaged the Michigan representatives as "wolverines," which made Michiganders very unhappy. Later, there was an intercollegiate American football game between the University of Michigan and Ohio State University, with the University of Michigan winning by a wide margin.

They started calling themselves wolverines to mock Ohioans as being worse than wolverines. Over time, the Wolverines became the nickname of the University of Michigan.

University of Wisconsin – Wisconsin Badgers

Wisconsin is also known as the Badger State. In 1820, the first explorers came to this land. In winter, they have no shelter from the wind and snow, so they can only dig holes underground and live in them like snakes (actually scorpions) to avoid snowstorms. Therefore, they called it Badger State. Later, the University of Wisconsin, as the best university in the state, used Zhu as its nickname.

Indiana University – Indiana Hoosiers

At the beginning of the founding of the United States, there were still many Native American tribes scattered across the western lands. Among them, the tribes living in the Indiana area are called Hoosiers, which is generally translated as "mountain people" or "Husier people". The origin of this name is very interesting: Americans came to Indiana and saw many local cabins. They walked up to the door and knocked on the door to ask which tribe you belonged to. The people inside had actually dealt with British and French colonists before, and they knew some broken English, so they asked "Who's here?" (Who's here?). Because their pronunciation is so non-standard, Americans outside hear it as Hoosier and think it is the name of their tribe. Later, all residents of Indiana, whether Native or not, were called Hoosiers. The highest mountain in Indiana is called Hoosier Hill, so Hoosier is also translated as "mountain man" in Chinese. As a prestigious school in the area, Indiana University uses "Mountain Man" as its nickname.

Ohio State University - Ohio State Buckeyes

Buckeye is a plant widely distributed in Ohio, and Ohio is also called the Buckeye State. As a famous school in the state, Ohio State University uses Buckeyes as its nickname. Buckeye is only distributed in North America, so there is no corresponding Chinese version. But it is a type of Aesculus. In addition to Buckeye, Aesculus plants also include Horse chestnut, which is distributed in China and is also called "horse chestnut". During the translation, the title "horse chestnut" was borrowed.

Penn State University – Penn State Nittany Lions

Legend has it that there was once a Valley of the Brave in central Pennsylvania, and there lived an Indian warrior named " Lion's Paw". After Lionpaw died in the battle, his wife Nittani (meaning "Wind Rider" in the Aboriginal language) buried him under a hillside beside the Valley of the Brave. Later, the soul of Lion Palm turned into a lion and led twelve warriors to guard the Valley of the Brave (later renamed Nittany Valley). Penn State was founded in the Nittany Valley, and the Nittany Lions became the school's nickname.

Michigan State University – MSU Spartans

Michigan State University was originally an agricultural college, so like many other agricultural universities, their earliest nickname was Aggie (literally translated as "farmer's son", transliterated as "Aggie"). Later, the school transformed into a comprehensive university, so it needed a new nickname. At that time, Stephen Scofi, the school's athletic director from Greece, suggested to the school that he find a heroic name that would be loved by students, alumni and fans, and suggested using the name "Spartan" from his hometown. The school and students thought it was good, so they adopted the title "Spartan", the most brave and good at fighting among the various tribes in ancient Greece.

Purdue University – Boilermakers

Purdue University is a school that specializes in engineering disciplines. In an intercollegiate American football game in 1892, Purdue University succeeded in defeating its weak rival Wabasy College in the same state 44:0. After the game, the local media reported that "Wabasi College was bloodbathed by the Boilermakers." In that era of rapid industrial development, occupations such as boiler workers were quite respected.

From that day on, Purdue adopted the nickname Boilermaker.

University of Minnesota – Minnesota Golden Gophers

In 1857, a political satire cartoon was published in Minnesota, depicting local politicians as nine quarreling animals. Gophers, to satirize their intrigues and greed for profit over the construction of railroads in western Minnesota. This incident earned Minnesota the nickname "Gopher State". As a top local university, the University of Minnesota adopted the nickname "Gopher". While the University of Minnesota's home uniforms are red, their road uniforms are gold. Therefore, they are often referred to as the "Golden Gophers" when they play away games at other schools. Over time, after 1930, "Golden Gophers" replaced "Gophers" as their official nickname.

University of Maryland – Maryland Terrapins

The University of Maryland’s nickname was coined in 1932 by then athletic director (later president) Harry Corley. Dr. Baird gave it to me. Terrapins, originally Diamondback Terrapins, are an aquatic turtle that lives in the Chesapeake Bay along the coast of Maryland. Baird's hometown of Chesterfield is famous for its diamondback turtles. Later, because the name Diamondback Terrapins was too long, it was simplified to Terrapins, which is the collective name for "freshwater turtles". In recent years, some people have even abbreviated Terrapins to Terps.

Rutgers – Scarlet Knights

Originally, Rutgers was nicknamed the Orange Knights. Since Rutgers was founded as a private university related to the Dutch nobility, in order to pay tribute to the Prince of Orange of the Netherlands, the school initially adopted the color orange (Orange, Orange, see Dutch Football National Team - Orange Jersey Legion) as the school color and call themselves knights. However, after Rutgers was incorporated as a public university by the state of New Jersey, they severed direct ties with the Dutch. So they stopped using orange. Prior to that, in 1869, Rutgers University and Princeton University played the first official intercollegiate football match in American history. Rutgers defeated their old rival Princeton 6:4. In that game, Rutgers players wore scarlet, black and light gray uniforms. When recalling the game, everyone agreed that these colors were the school’s lucky colors. Therefore, after abandoning orange, the school adopted these three colors as school colors, and the school's nickname became Scarlett Knights.

University of Nebraska – Nebraska Cornhuskers

In an intercollegiate football game in 1893, the University of Nebraska won 20:18 The score came back to defeat the University of Iowa. After the game, the school newspaper published the results, which used the term "cornhusker" to describe the players' devastating performance in the second half. Since then, "Cornhuskers" has replaced other nicknames as the school's only official nickname. One of the former nicknames, Antelopes, was adopted by the University of Nebraska branch, Nebraska-Kearny.

University of Iowa – Iowa Hawkeyes

In the early days of the founding of the United States, there were many Indian tribes in the Midwest, and one of the more powerful tribes was called the Sauk tribe. The Sauk tribe has a heroic leader, Black Hawk, who has led his people to fight against the Americans who invaded their territory many times. In 1832, Black Hawk led the tribal people in a battle with the U.S. military at the border of what is now Iowa and Illinois. The purpose was to regain the land they lost in the Treaty of St. Louis. It was known in history as the "Black Hawk's War." ". The Sauk people led by Black Hawk faced a U.S. military force that was dozens of times their size and well-equipped, and all of them fought bravely and skillfully. Although they ultimately failed and were driven back west of the Mississippi, their bravery shocked everyone.

The next year, a newspaper reporter in Burlington, Iowa, first used the term "Hawk Eye" in an article commemorating Black Hawk. It was used to describe Black Hawk's sharp gaze when directing battles to pay tribute to Black Hawk. pay tribute. When Iowa was established in 1846, it also paid tribute to the Black Hawk and named the state the Hawkeye State. The University of Iowa was established in 1847 and also adopted the nickname Hawkeyes.

Duke University – Duke Blue Devils

The nickname of Duke University was borrowed from the French mountain troops "Chasseurs Alps" during World War I. Nicknamed the Blue Devils "les Diables Bleus". Originally, Duke University was nicknamed "Methodist", corresponding to its neighboring rival Wake Forest University's "Baptist". After World War I, the school resumed its long-suspended American football program and prepared a new nickname for a new beginning. At this time, the school noticed that Duke's representative colors, blue and white, were very similar to the uniforms of the French mountain troops during World War I, so they borrowed the nickname "Blue Devils" from the mountain troops as their own nickname.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill – North Carolina Tar Heels

Tar Heel means "tar heel". This was originally another name for North Carolina. The origin of this word is unknown, but some people speculate that it is related to the fact that asphalt was once an important product in the Carolina region. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was the first school in North Carolina to have an American football team, so they adopted the state's nickname as their own.

University of Massachusetts - UMass Minutemen

During the American Revolutionary War, many farmers in New England volunteered to form militias. They usually farm, but once they hear the alarm of the British army's incoming attack, they will gather in their respective towns within a minute to fight against the enemy. They were known as the Minute Militia. The nickname of the University of Massachusetts commemorates these people who serve as soldiers when they go out and serve the people when they enter.

Wake Forest University – Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Demon Deacons is generally translated as "Devil Deacons", which is actually a bit ambiguous. Its original meaning is "the judge who judges the devil", rather than saying that he is a "judge like the devil". As mentioned before, Wake Forest University and Duke University have been enemies because of sectarian issues for a long time. After Duke University changed its name to the Blue Devils, it continued to play football games with Wake Forest University. In 1923, after Wake Forest beat Duke in a game, the local newspaper published a headline saying that Wake Forest beat the Blue Devils badly. Since then, Wake Forest has called itself the Devil's Judge, the "Devil's Deacon."

University of Florida – Florida Gators

There are many alligators living in Florida. In the early 20th century, there was a retail store in Gainesville, the town where the school is located. One day, the boss drew an alligator on the flag he was selling with "University of Florida" printed on it. Unexpectedly, the students loved it, so all the flags he sold in the future had alligators painted on them. In 1911, the school decided to use "Alligator" as its nickname because of the crocodile's popularity.

Miami FL Hurricanes (Miami FL Hurricanes)

The University of Miami is located on the east coast of Florida, where hurricanes often occur. Students discovered that ibises are the last animals to evacuate before hurricanes. After the hurricane passed, the ibis was the first animal to return. They think it is a symbol of leadership, so they use the ibis as their mascot. The hurricane, which made the ibis a leader, became their nickname.

University of Pittsburgh – Panthers

The University of Pittsburgh first decided to use the nickname "Pitt Panthers" at an alumni meeting in November 1909.

The year before that, the school had just been renamed from the "University of Western Pennsylvania" to the University of Pittsburgh. Therefore, the former nickname "Wup" (from the school's previous abbreviation, Western University of Pennsylvania) is no longer applicable. After some discussion and voting, Black Panther became the new nickname because Black Panther is the most ferocious predator in the mountains near Pittsburgh, and in Indian culture, Black Panther symbolizes nobility.

Virginia Tech – Virginia Tech Hokies

Hokie, originally written as Hoki, is an Old English word for expressing excited emotions, similar to "Yeah" or "Hurrah". In 1896, Virginia Tech underwent a name change from "Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College" (VAMC) to "Virginia Polytechnic Institute" (VPI, the predecessor of the current school name). Due to the name change, the school's previous school song and cheering song are no longer applicable. At this time, the school encourages students to compose new songs, and the songwriter who is finally selected as the school song will receive a $5 reward. The entry of a student named Stuhl won the competition, and the first line of his lyrics was "Hoki! Hoki! Hoki! Hi! Techs! Techs! V-P-I!" This lyric made Hoki, a long-lost Old English language, popular again on the campus of Virginia Tech. Because it seemed unique, Virginia Tech adopted Hoki as its nickname. Later, the school had a mascot - a bird that looked like a turkey. In order to maintain uniqueness, they added an e after Hoki as the bird's name and changed the nickname to Hokies.

FSU Seminoles

FSU's nickname "Seminole" is the Native American people who once lived on the Florida Peninsula. In the late nineteenth century, they were forcibly driven to the West by the U.S. government. Their use of the moniker was the result of a student vote to honor the area's Aboriginal people.

Murray State University - Racers (Murray State Racers)

Murray State University is located in western Kentucky, and Kentucky has historically been a very popular state for horse racing. state. The jockeys on the racecourse are often called "racers". Murray State University's nickname pays homage to those runners who push forward.

University of California, Berkeley – California Golden Bears

In 1846, California established a "California Republic" that lasted only more than 20 days. , and the bear is their symbol. Later, California followed this tradition and also painted a bear on the state flag. In 1895, the track and field team of the University of California participated in an invitational meet, and their opponents were all the giants of the time - the University of Chicago, Yale University, Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania. As a new university on the West Coast, the University of California hopes to show the style of the West Coast, so they chose the bear, which symbolizes California, as their nickname. At that time, the color of their team uniforms was gold to symbolize the gold abundant in California. Since then, they have earned the nickname "The Golden Bears."

University of Arizona – Wildcats

The nickname of the University of Arizona is the same as that of Northwestern University, and their origins are also similar, and they are earlier in time. In 1914, the University of Arizona's football team defeated the defending champion Oceanside College team of the Southwest. After watching the game, a reporter commented, "The players of the University of Arizona embody the good nature of the Wildcats." Fighting spirit." Later they used "Wild Cat" as their nickname. However, the University of Arizona rarely played games until World War II, so the nickname did not become known to more people (perhaps including Northwestern University fans) until after World War II.

Arizona State University – ASU Sun Devils

In 1946, a designer from Disney designed a mascot for Arizona State University - a mascot holding a spray gun. Little devil with flaming trident.

The students named the little devil the "Sun Devil" because the area where the school is located happens to be a sun-drenched desert area. Later, they adopted "Sun Devil" as their nickname, replacing their previous nickname - "Bulldog" which was not unique enough.

University of Oregon – Oregon Ducks

Originally, the University of Oregon was nicknamed "Webfoot". The Webfooters were a group of fishermen who once lived in Massachusetts and were revered for their service in the Revolutionary War. Later, the Webfooters and their descendants came to Oregon with the westward movement and settled there. In 1926, the University of Oregon adopted Webfoot as its nickname to pay tribute to these pioneers. But because Oregon and Massachusetts are thousands of miles apart, it is difficult for people to connect Oregon with the group of New England fishermen who played a role in the Revolutionary War. Many people who don't know the inside story take it for granted that Webfoot refers to duck webs, so the University of Oregon gradually became known as "Duck". In the 1940s, the athletic director of the University of Oregon was a close friend of Walt Disney. During his tenure, Disney's Donald Duck became the school's official mascot. Since then, the nickname "Duck" has completely eclipsed "The Web-footed Man" as the University of Oregon's nickname. Donald Duck is still the mascot of the University of Oregon.

Colorado Buffaloes

The University of Colorado was originally nicknamed the "Silver Helmets" or "Frontiermen". During an intercollegiate football game against the University of Denver in the 1930s, a bison ran onto the field. The North American bison and the European buffalo (buffalo) are very similar in appearance, and there is a misuse of the term in North America. Since then, the University of Colorado has been known as "The Buffalo."

Colorado State University – Colorado State Rams

Colorado State University was formerly Colorado A&M College. As mentioned before at Michigan State University, schools related to agriculture are generally nicknamed Aggies. Later, the school was changed to a comprehensive state university. When choosing a new nickname, it took the more common local animal-goat-as its nickname.

University of Dayton - Dayton Flyers

The Wright brothers who invented the airplane are alumni of the University of Dayton. This nickname is a tribute to the two people who were the first to fly.

University of Richmond - Richmond Spiders

Using an animal that many people hate or even fear as a nickname is enough for the University of Richmond. Their logos all look heart-wrenching. The nickname comes from a baseball game in 1894. In that game, a pitcher named Ellison performed well. He had long arms and accurate ball control, like a spider spinning a web. Later the school was nicknamed "Spider".

Youngstown State University - Penguins

There are no penguins in Ohio. Why does this Ohio university use Penguins as its nickname? It turned out that after an away game against West Liberty University in 1933, the Youngstown State University team encountered a sudden snowstorm on the way back. When they returned to school after going through all kinds of hardships, they were all as cold as penguins. Later, the school was nicknamed Penguin.

University of Tulsa - Tulsa Golden Hurricanes

The University of Tulsa did not have an official nickname for a long time after its establishment until 1922. Acker, who is the football coach at the University of Tulsa, decided to let the nickname stick to preserve tradition. Acker's chosen nickname for the school was "The Golden Tornado." The University of Tulsa is located in Oklahoma, which is tornado country. The gold color comes from the color of the school's home uniforms at the time. But they soon discovered that the nickname had the same name as another school, so they changed the name from tornado to hurricane.

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