Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NCAA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Mid-Major fans and fans across the country.
Mid-major schools have some of the best team nicknames in all sports. Creative, unique, historic.
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Frank DeBari and I discussed some of the top names on a recent episode of the “Anything But Mid” podcast. That discussion led us to ask the question: What’s the best mid-major team nickname?
Fighting Camels, Mastodons, Billikens, Golden Griffins, Ragin’ Cajuns, Salukis.
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Fighting Camels
The Campbell Fighting Camels. The origins of the nickname are up for debate. Campbell used to be known as the Hornets until 1933-34, when they changed to the Camels. One belief is that, after the school survived a fire in its infancy back in 1900, a friend of founder J.A. Campbell encouraged him by saying, “I thought Campbells had hump on them.” Another belief is that the name came from Camel cigarettes, as D. Rich, who served as treasurer for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, which produced Camel cigarettes, was a major benefactor.
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Mastodons
From one exotic animal to another. The Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons. The school adopted Mastodons as its mascot in 1969, five years after the school’s inception. So how did PFW become the only school in the U.S. with this nickname? Mastodon fossils were discovered in Angola, about 45 minutes from campus. Those who discovered the bones reached out to Jack Sunderman, who at the time was the chair of the Purdue Fort Wayne Department of Geology, to help identify the fossils. Soon after, the student body president began a movement to make Mastodons the official nickname of the school.
Billikens
The Saint Louis Billikens. No surprise SLU is the only school named the “Billikens”. It’s a mythical good-luck figure. A Billiken first appeared in U.S. pop culture in the early 1900s. How it became the mascot of SLU is not definitive. The football coach in 1910, John Bender, was said to look like a Billiken. Billiken statues can be found in Japan. Carvings of Billikens can be seen in Alaska. It also bears the name of a children’s magazine in Argentina and a parade in Chicago.
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Golden Griffins
Moving to another mythical beast. The Canisius Golden Griffins. Canisius chose the beast as its mascot for the courage, strength and intelligence it represented. Those traits are heavily rooted in the school’s Jesuit tradition. The Griffin has an eagle head with claws and wings on a lion’s body.
Ragin’ Cajuns
The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns. The school went bey Bulldogs for its first 60 years. Then, in the early ’60s, football coach Russ Faulkinberry referred to the team as the “Raging Cajuns” to fire up the squad since the majority of the players were from the area. Sports Information Director Bob Henderson ran with it, and the team officially changed its name in 1962, paying homage to the state’s culture.
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Salukis
The Southern Illinois Salukis. What’s a Saluki? Great question. Saluki is a dog breed that dates back to 3,600 BCE. It was featured prominently in ancient Egypt. So, what does this have to do with Carbondale, Illinois? Well, the Southern Illinois region is known as Little Egypt, which is another funky rabbit hole one can dive into. The student body voted in 1951 to change the name of SIU from the Maroons, and Salukis won with 536 votes. The runner up was Rebels with 144 votes. Other names receiving votes were Knights, Flyers, Marauders and Maroons.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
