Alabama College Nicknames Trivia Quiz

Answer: Jaguars

The University of South Alabama was established in Mobile in 1963. The Jaguars moniker was selected by the school's board of trustees in 1965 to symbolize the courage and spirit of the university's students and alumni. The Jaguars are members of the Sun Belt Conference.

Answer: Hornets

Alabama State University was founded in 1867 in Alabama's capital, Montgomery. The Hornets nickname dates back to 1921 when it was chosen by school President Dr. William Hooper Councill. The Hornets are members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). In 1991, their gridiron team won the first-ever edition of the Heritage Bowl.

Answer: Hawks

Huntingdon College was founded in Montgomery in 1854. The Hawks nickname, which is alliterative, was chosen by students in 1958. Huntingdon became members of the NCAA Division III Collegiate Conference of the South in 2022, with the exception of (American) football, for which they continued to compete in the USA South Athletic Conference.

Answer: Tigers

Auburn University was established in 1856 in Lee County. The school took its Tigers nickname from a 1770 poem entitled "The Deserted Village" by Oliver Goldsmith, who wrote the line "where crouching tigers await their hapless prey".
The Tigers became members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in 1932, and claim national titles in gridiron, men's swimming and golf, and women's swimming and outdoor track & field.

Answer: Gamecocks

Jacksonville State University was founded in Calhoun County in 1883. The school was nicknamed Eagle Owls until 1946 when Gamecocks was adopted. The Gamecocks were a NCAA Division II school until 1995 when they moved to Division I-A (FCS). They moved up again to FBS level in 2023, joining Conference USA. During their Division II days, they won a number of national crowns, including back-to-back baseball titles in 1990-91.

Answer: Trojans

Troy University was founded in 1887 in Pike County. Originally nicknamed Red Wave, the school changed their moniker to Trojans in the 1970's, Trojans being the name given to citizens of the ancient city of Troy. Troy has been both an NAIA and NCAA Division II school over the years, moving to Division I in 1993 - they joined the Sun Belt Conference in 2004.

The Trojans won numerous national titles during their Division II days, including gridiron crowns in both 1984 & 1987.

Answer: Bulldogs

Alabama A&M University was established in 1875 in Huntsville, Madison County. Bulldogs is one of the most common nicknames in US college sports, and A&M adopted it in 1926. The Bulldogs joined the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) in 1999. They were previously an NCAA Division II school, where they won a number of national titles, being especially successful in women's track & field.

Answer: Crimson Tide

The University of Alabama was established in Tuscaloosa in 1820. The school's unusual nickname dates back to a gridiron clash against Auburn played on a muddy field in 1907, with a local sportswriter using the moniker to describe the Alabama players. Alabama is a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and has won national crowns in a number of sports.

Their gridiron squads claimed 18 national titles between 1925 and 2020.

Answer: Lions

The University of North Alabama was founded in 1830 in Florence, Lauderdale County. UNA has been known as Lions since 1930, and have had a number of live lion mascots through the years. The school was an NCAA Division II institute for decades before moving up to Division I-AA (FCS) in 2019.

They joined the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2022. The Lions won three consecutive national gridiron titles at Division II level between 1993 and 1995.

Answer: Blazers

UAB was established in 1969 as part of the University of Alabama system. The school adopted the Blazers nickname in 1978 as a shortened version of Trailblazers, the nickname of the Portland basketball team who were on the verge of winning the NBA title at the time. The school's mascot is a dragon called Blaze. UAB joined the American Athletic Conference in 2023.