Tough College Nicknames Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ichabods

Washburn University is in Topeka, Kansas. It was founded as Lincoln College in 1865 and offered a three year high school degree in addition to college classes. Times were difficult for the school following the Civil War and they began a pledge drive. One of the largest contributors ($25,000 at the time) was Ichabod Washburn. He was a leader in the field of wire production and was impressed with the college.

In gratitude, the school was renamed Washburn University and the nickname of the teams became the "Ichabods". As of 2021, the school competes in sixteen intercollegiate sports.

Answer: Golden Flashes

Kent State University is in the northeastern part of Ohio in the town of Kent. It was established in 1910 as part of a bill which created colleges for training public school teachers. It was named Kent State Normal College in honor of a benefactor who donated the land for the campus area. The teams were originally known as the "Silver Foxes" in honor of a silver fox ranch nearby.

In 1928, a contest was held to rename the team and the majority of people in the poll chose "Golden Flashes". Over the years, a variety of mascots have been utilized to be the "golden flash", including a dog, a caveman character, a horse and rider, a superhero, and a live golden eagle. As of 2022, the mascot is a person dressed as a golden eagle named Flash.

Answer: Mavericks

Minnesota State Mankato is 85 miles southwest of the Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul) in Minnesota. It was chartered in 1860 and called Mankato Normal School and the first 27 students attended in 1868. The idea of the school was to train and educate teachers who were willing to go to rural areas throughout the state. By 1975, it transitioned to Mankato State University and then in 1998 it became Minnesota State University, Mankato.

In the 1920s the mascot and name were called "peds" to refer to pedagogues (people in the act of teaching). Then then went by the "Indians" but it was later dropped due to Native American objections. By 1977, they held a contest and a professor won who suggested the "Maverick". He said it is because the maverick is "powerful, unbranded, and unyielding". The person dressed as a maverick mascot goes by the name "Stomper".

Answer: Little Giants

Wabash College is a private liberal arts college for men and is located in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Wabash was founded in 1832 by a group of men who wished to have an institution to teach boys to become preachers and teachers of the area. In 1833, Caleb Mills, from Dartmouth College, became the person to create the aims of the college of learning, virtue, and service.

In 1904, Wabash received their name the "Little Giants" by a sportswriter named Mellet. He had been having a discussion with coaches and noted that Wabash almost always performed well against much bigger schools with physically larger players. Their motto became "Wabash Always Fights". The person who dresses as the little giant mascot is called "Wally Wabash".

Answer: Norsemen

Northern Kentucky University is in Highland Heights, Kentucky, close to the border of Ohio. In 1946, a group of people consisting of secretaries, WWII veterans and high school grads began taking classes together. This turned into Northern Kentucky State College by 1968. By the late 1970s, it had become a university and was excelling in athletics in their division.

Due to their location in the northern part of the state, they were called the "Norsemen" after the Scandinavian traders in the 9th to 11th centuries from Northern Europe. For several years, the mascot was a dragon called "Hey U" until the school decided they needed a mascot closer to their Norse nickname. Hence, the current mascot is Victor E Viking (a Norseman who took to the sea to raid and explore).

Answer: Highlanders

Radford University is in the small town of Radford, Virginia in the southwestern part of the state. It was founded in 1910 as a school for women with the intent of teaching them to be educators in the Appalachian area of the state. By the 1970s it had become coed and a full university.

The area in which it lies has quite a culture of Scots-Irish heritage. To honor this, the school adopted the name "Highlanders" in the 1970s. They changed the school colors from purple and gray to a tartan plaid color with red, white, blue, and green. They stated the Highlander is a fearsome, strong person that incites courage. In 1981, Radford introduced its mascot called Rowdy Red who is a person dressed as a traditional highlander.

Answer: Tartars/Warriors

Wayne State is located in Detroit, Michigan. It started in 1868 when several Civil War doctors decided there needed to be a medical school in the area. In the decades that followed, different degrees were added to the medical curriculum and it became a full university in 1934. By 1956 it was called Wayne State University in honor of the county in which it was located.

Starting in 1927, the team of the university was called the "Tartars" which represented an Asian ethnic group known for savagery and fierceness. Tartar (and in many cases Mongol) men were used as the caricatures to represent the teams. Asian-American students protested and in 1979, lasting for the next 20 years, the mascot was an abstract drawing of a Tartar. In 1999, the school changed the name to the "Warriors". It was said it was because many people did not know what a "Tartar" was and there was jokes about tartar sauce. The mascot is now a person dressed as a character named "W".

Answer: The Tribe

The College of William and Mary is located in Williamsburg, Virginia. It was founded back in 1693 by a royal order of King William III and Queen Mary II of England (hence, its name). It is the second oldest institution of higher learning in America (behind Harvard). Some of the earliest American Presidents studied here, including Jefferson, Monroe, and Tyler. The first law school in America was here as well as the first intercollegiate fraternity.

In 1916, the school took the name "Indians" instead of the name "Orange and Black" which referred to the school colors. In the 1920s multiple different names were tried including "Braves", "Warriors", "Big Green", and finally, "Tribe". By the 1970s, Indian images were removed from the school logos and the term "Tribe" was fully embraced. A costumed character named Col Ebirt (Tribe spelled backwards) lasted for a bit before he was replaced by a Griffin. The griffin, part eagle and part lion, is named "Reveley", in honor of the school's 27th President.

Answer: Green Terror

McDaniel College is a private school in Westminster, Maryland toward the northern border of the state. It was founded in 1867 as Western Maryland College and was named for the railroad line that went nearby. It was the first coed institution south of the Mason-Dixon line. In the 1990s, the college expanded to Europe while their sports facilities were used as training camps for professional American football teams. In 2002, the school changed the name to McDaniel College in honor of an alumni who spent 65 years associated with the institution.

The school's nickname came about in 1923 when the school newspaper related a recent game where 11 players on the field looked like "green terrors". The coach then thought it was a fitting nickname and would the word "terror" would boost the morale of his team. Although the term has always come to mean the a fierce spirit, the mascot has changed over the years. It has been a wolf, a bobcat, and a leopard. In 2017, the school held a survey and the new mascot was chosen to be a dragon-like creature.

Answer: Seawolves

Sonoma State University is in California, north of San Francisco. It was established in 1960 and opened its doors to students in 1961. In 1972, a residential "village" was built of stucco and redwood, honoring the local flora. In the early 2000s, a recreation center and sports facility was constructed, a special program for people over age 50 was begun, and teaching Native American studies kicked off.

From the early 1960s until 2002, the teams of Sonoma State were called the "Cossacks", in honor of the Russian settlers in the nearby area. Over the years, the name was deemed offensive because of historical actions of Cossacks. In 2002, a naming committee surveyed students, staff, and alumni. The name "Seawolves" was chosen in honor of Jack London, born in the area, and the author of "The Sea-Wolf".