Birds and College Sports
I was intruiged by a post about
birds and professional sports teams on the EXCELLENT
10,000 Birds blog...so I decided to rip it off I mean take it even further.
10,000 Birds covered pro sports, but I figured that college sports would uncover even more team names after birds...and boy was I right. The following is a list, procured from
this website, of American college teams names for birds:
Bald Eagles ---
Lock Haven University (Lock Haven, Pennsylvania)
Blackbirds ---
Long Island University-Brooklyn (Brooklyn, New York)
Blue Hawks ---
Dickinson State University (Dickinson, North Dakota)
Blue Hens ---
University of Delaware (Newark, Delaware)
Blue Jays ---
Elizabethtown College (Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania)
Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, Maryland)
Polytechnic University (Brooklyn, New York)
Saint Joseph College (West Hartford, Connecticut)
Westminster College (Fulton, Missouri)
Bluejays ---
Creighton University (Omaha, Nebraska)
Elmhurst College (Elmhurst, Illinois)
Tabor College (Hillsboro, Kansas)
Cardinals ---
Ball State University (Muncie, Indiana)
Catholic University (Washington, DC)
Concordia University (Ann Arbor, Michigan)
Lamar University (Beaumont, Texas)
Massachusetts College of Pharmacy (Boston, Massachusetts)
North Central College (Naperville, Illinois)
Otterbein College (Westerville, Ohio)
Saginaw Valley State University (University Center, Michigan)
St. John Fisher College (Rochester, New York)
St. Mary's University of Minnesota (Winona, Minnesota)
State University of New York-College at Plattsburgh (Plattsburgh, New York)
University of the Incarnate Word (San Antonio, Texas)
University of Louisville (Louisville, Kentucky)
Wesleyan University (Middletown, Connecticut)
Wheeling Jesuit University (Wheeling, West Virginia)
William Jewell College (Liberty, Missouri)
York College-City University of New York (Jamaica, New York)
Ducks ---
University of Oregon (Eugene, Oregon)
Stevens Institute of Technology (Hoboken, New Jersey)
Duhawks --- (means, Dubuque Hawks)
Loras College (Dubuque, Iowa)
Eagles ---
Alice Lloyd College (Pippa Passes, Kentucky)
American University (Washington, DC)
Asbury College (Wilmore, Kentucky)
Ashland University (Ashland, Ohio)
Avila University (Kansas City, Missouri)
Bartlesville Wesleyan College (Bartlesville, Oklahoma)
Benedictine University (Lisle, Illinois)
Biola University (La Mirada, California)
Boston College (Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts)
Bridgewater College (Bridgewater, Virginia)
Carson-Newman College (Jefferson City, Tennessee)
Central Methodist College (Fayette, Missouri)
Chadron State College (Chadron, Nebraska)
College of St. Elizabeth (Morristown, New Jersey)
Concordia University (Irvine, California)
Coppin State University (Baltimore, Maryland)
Daniel Webster College (Nashua, New Hampshire)
Eastern College (St. Davids, Pennsylvania)
Eastern Michigan University (Ypsilanti, Michigan) (former nickname: Hurons)
(efforts exist to change the nickname back to Hurons)
Eastern Washington University (Cheney, Washington)
Edgewood College (Madison, Wisconsin)
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Daytona Beach, Florida)
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Prescott, Arizona)
Emory University (Atlanta, Georgia)
Faith Baptist Bible College & Theological Seminary (Ankeny, Iowa)
Faulkner University (Montgomery, Alabama)
Florida Gulf Coast University (Fort Myers, Florida)
Georgia Southern University (Statesboro, Georgia)
Green Mountain College (Poultney, Vermont)
Judson College (Elgin, Illinois)
Judson College (Marion, Alabama)
Juniata College (Huntingdon, Pennsylvania)
Lambuth University (Jackson, Tennessee)
Mary Washington College (Fredericksburg, Virginia)
Messenger College (Joplin, Missouri)
Midway College (Midway, Kentucky)
Morehead State University (Morehead, Kentucky)
National-Louis University (Evanston, Illinois)
North Carolina Central University (Durham, North Carolina)
Northwest College (Kirkland, Washington)
Northwestern College (Saint Paul, Minnesota)
Oklahoma Christian University (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
Pensacola Christian College (Pensacola, Florida)
Trinity Baptist College (Jacksonville, Florida)
Robert Morris College (Chicago, Illinois)
Sierra Nevada College (Incline Village, Nevada)
Post University (Waterbury, Connecticut) (former name: Teikyo-Post University)
Toccoa Falls College (Toccoa Falls, Georgia)
University of North Texas (Denton, Texas)
(This school has three official nicknames: Eagles, Mean Green, and Mean Green Eagles.)
University of the Ozarks (Clarksville, Arkansas)
University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse (LaCrosse, Wisconsin)
Williams Baptist College (Walnut Ridge, Arkansas)
Winthrop University (Rock Hill, South Carolina)
Falcons ---
Air Force Institute of Technology (Dayton, Ohio)
Albertus Magnus College (New Haven, Connecticut)
Bentley College (Waltham, Massachusetts)
Bowling Green State University (Bowling Green, Ohio)
Concordia University (Mequon, Wisconsin)
Fairmont State University (Fairmont, West Virginia)
Fitchburg State College (Fitchburg, Massachusetts)
Florida College (Temple Terrace, Florida)
Friends University (Wichita, Kansas)
Messiah College (Grantham, Pennsylvania)
Notre Dame College (South Euclid, Ohio)
Pfeiffer College (Misenheimer, North Carolina)
Seattle Pacific University (Seattle, Washington)
St. Augustine's College (Raleigh, North Carolina)
United States Air Force Academy (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
University of Montevallo (Montevallo, Alabama)
University of Texas of the Permian Basin (Odessa, Texas)
University of Wisconsin-River Falls (River Falls, Wisconsin)
Firebirds ---
University of the District of Columbia (Washington, DC)
Gamecocks ---
Jacksonville State University (Jacksonville, Alabama)
University of South Carolina (Columbia, South Carolina)
Golden Eagles ---
California State University-Los Angeles (Los Angeles, California)
Cincinnati Bible College and Seminary (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Clarion University (Clarion, Pennsylvania)
Cornerstone University (Grand Rapids, Michigan)
John Brown University (Siloam Springs, Arkansas)
La Sierra University (Riverside, California)
Marquette University (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) (former nickname: Warriors)
Northeastern Illinois University (Chicago, Illinois)
Oral Roberts University (Tulsa, Oklahoma) (former nickname: Titans)
State University of New York-College at Brockport (Brockport, New York)
St. Joseph's College-Suffolk Campus (Patchogue, New York)
Tennessee Technological University (Cookeville, Tennessee)
University of Charleston (Charleston, West Virginia)
University of Minnesota-Crookston (Minnesota)
University of Southern Mississippi (Hattiesburg, Mississippi)
Golden Falcons ---
Felician College (Lodi, New Jersey)
Gulls ---
Endicott College (Beverly, Massachusetts) (former nickname: Power Gulls)
Harriers ---
Miami University-Hamilton (Hamilton, Ohio)
Hawks ---
Hartwick College (Oneonta, New York)
Hilbert College (Hamburg, New York)
Hunter College-City University of New York (New York, New York)
Huntingdon College (Montgomery, Alabama)
Monmouth University (Monmouth, New Jersey)
Quincy University (Quincy, Illinois)
Rockhurst College (Kansas City, Missouri)
Roger Williams University (Bristol, Rhode Island)
Saint Anselm College (Manchester, New Hampshire)
Saint Joseph's University (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
San Diego Christian College (El Cajon, California)
Shorter College (Rome, Georgia)
State University of New York-College at New Paltz (New Paltz, New York)
University of Hartford (Hartford, Connecticut)
University of Maryland-Eastern Shore (Princess Anne, Maryland)
Herons ---
William Smith College (Geneva, New York)
Hustlin' Owls ---
Oregon Institute of Technology (Klamath Falls, Oregon)
Jayhawks ---
University of Kansas (Lawrence, Kansas)
Kohawks ---
Coe College (Cedar Rapids, Iowa)
Larks ---
Hesston College (Hesston, Kansas)
Marauding Eagles ---
Marycrest International University (Davenport, Iowa)
Mountain Hawks ---
Lehigh University (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania)
Nighthawks ---
Thomas College (Thomasville, Georgia)
Ospreys ---
Richard Stockton College of New Jersey (Pomona, New Jersey)
University of North Florida (Jacksonville, Florida)
Owls ---
Bryn Mawr College (Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania)
Florida Atlantic University (Boca Raton, Florida) (all sports except for men's baseball)
Hellenic College (Brookline, Massachusetts)
Keene State College (Keene, New Hampshire)
Kennesaw State University (Marietta, Georgia)
Rice University (Houston, Texas)
Southern Connecticut State University (New Haven, Connecticut)
Temple University (Philadelphia, Pennsylania)
University of Maine-Presque Isle (Presque Isle, Maine)
Warren-Wilson College (Swannanoa, North Carolina)
Westfield State College (Westfield, Massachusetts)
Widener University (Wilmington, Delaware)
William Woods University (Fulton, Missouri)
Peacocks ---
St. Peter's College (Jersey City, New Jersey)
Upper Iowa University(Fayette, Iowa)
Pelicans ---
Spalding University (Louisville, Kentucky)
Penguins ---
Clark College (Vancouver, Washington)
Dominican College of San Rafael (San Rafael, California)
Youngstown State University (Youngstown, Ohio)
Purple Eagles ---
Niagara University (Niagara University, New York)
Ravens ---
Benedictine College (Atchison, Kansas)
Franklin Pierce College (Rindge, New Hampshire)
Anderson University (Anderson, Indiana)
St. Meinrad College (St. Meinrad, Indiana)
Redbirds ---
Illinois State University (Normal, Illinois)
Redhawks ---
Indiana University-Northwest (Gary, Indiana) (former nickname: The Blast)
Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) (former nickname: Redskins)
Seattle University (Seattle, Washington)
Southeast Missouri State University (Cape Girardeau, Missouri) (former nicknames: Indians for men and Otahkians for women)
Red Hawks ---
LaRoche College (Pittsburgh, Penbnsylvania)
Montclair State University (Upper Montclair, New Jersey)
Ripon College (Ripon, Wisconsin)
River Hawks ---
University of Massachusetts-Lowell (Lowell, Massachusetts)
Roadrunners ---
California State University-Bakersfield (Bakersfield, California)
Dalton State College (Dalton, Georgia)
Metropolitan State College of Denver (Denver, Colorado)
Ramapo College (Mahwah, New Jersey)
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (San Antonio, Texas)
University of Texas-San Antonio (San Antonio, Texas)
Running Eagles ---
Life University (Marietta, Georgia)
Sagehens ---
joint team of Pomona College and Pitzer College (Claremont, California)
Scarlet Hawks ---
Illinois Institute of Technology (Chicago, Illinois)
Screaming Eagles ---
SiTanka Huron University (Huron, South Dakota)
University of Southern Indiana (Evansville, Indiana)
Sea Gulls ---
Salisbury University (Salisbury, Maryland)
Seahawks ---
Northwood University (West Palm Beach, Florida)
Salve Regina University (Newport, Rhode Island)
St. Mary's College of Maryland (St. Mary's City, Maryland)
University of North Carolina-Wilmington (North Carolina)
Wagner College (Staten Island, New York)
Skyhawks ---
Fort Lewis College (Durango, Colorado)
Stonehill College (North Easton, Massachusetts) (former nickname: Chieftains)
University of Tennessee-Martin
Soaring Eagles ---
Elmira College (Elmira, New York)
Stormy Petrels ---
Oglethorpe University (Atlanta, Georgia)
Sunbirds ---
Fresno Pacific University (Fresno, California)
Thunderbirds ---
Cascade College (Portland, Oregon)
Southern Utah University (Cedar City, Utah)
Thunderbird, The Garvin School of International Management (Glendale, Arizona)
Thunderhawks ---
Miami University-Middletown (Middletown, Ohio)
V-Hawks ---
Viterbo University (LaCrosse, Wisconsin)
Warhawks ---
University of Louisiana-Monroe (Monroe, Louisiana) (former name: Northeastern Louisiana University) (former nickname: Indians)
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (Whitewater, Wisconsin)
Well there you have it! That's quite a list. A few things stand out:
-Hawks and Eagle are the most commong school name, which makes sense because hawks and eagles are commonly considered fierce, honorable birds. However, teams take different approaches when name a team and eagle or a hawk. For instance, when a team wants to include Eagle in its name, it usually just sticks a random adjective in front and moves on. Eagles on this list are Screaming, Running, Marauding, Purple, Golden and of course, Bald. When a team wants to have a hawk in its name, they're a bit sneakier about it, often trying to pass off the bird as an actual species by sticking a geographic feature in front of it (some of these names, like Marsh Hawks for example, may at one time been actual names for hawks). In this list we have River Hawks, Mountain Hawks, Skyhawks, and Seahawks.
-Why did a team from Kentucky name themselves the Pelicans?
-My favorite name? I admire the attempt of Oglethorpe Univversity (another Atlanta bird team) to go with an uncommon pelagic bird, however they slipped and call themselves the Stormy Petrels instead of the Storm Petrels (which is a pretty fierce name I think). So...I'm going to go with the Thomas College Nighthawks. Uncommon bird (I wonder if they think it's an actual hawk...), fierce name. I like it.
