List_of_college_sports_team_nicknames

List of college sports team nicknames in North America

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The following is a sports team nicknames for colleges (universities in non-U.S. English) in North America, primarily in the United States and Canada.

These are the general, collective nicknames that various colleges and universities' athletic teams compete under, grouped by a general theme before dividing into specific nicknames. For specific names of live or costumed mascots, see List of college mascots in the United States.

Footnotes

San Francisco State's nickname is not derived from the alligator, but rather the Golden Gate Bridge. The current nickname evolved from an earlier nickname of "Golden Gaters".
The school's formal name is University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, but it brands its athletic program solely as Chattanooga. The nickname of "Mocs" is a contraction of the former nickname of "Moccasins". While the city is located in the Tennessee River's Moccasin Bend, the school's athletic branding had long alluded to Native American stereotypes. The current nickname and athletic imagery strongly emphasize the northern mockingbird, the official state bird of Tennessee.
Evolved from a former nickname of Thoroughbreds; the baseball team was the last to abandon that nickname, doing so in 2014.
While this school's nickname is "Lions", its athletic imagery depicts a cougar, also known as "mountain lion".
While the athletic nicknames of all Penn State campuses incorporate the word "Lions" in some way—most notably the Nittany Lions nickname of the main campus—this refers in all cases to the cougar (aka "mountain lion"). The main campus uses a stylized cougar's head in its athletic logo, and one of that campus' most prominent landmarks is a larger-than-life sculpture of a cougar. Most other Penn State campuses feature a replica of this sculpture.
Formally the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, academically branded as "UA Little Rock", but athletically known as Little Rock.
The former women's nickname of "Women of Troy" is still officially acceptable, but has mostly been superseded by Trojans.
Derived from the fact that the institution, which had opened in 1946, was saved from closure in 1949 when it was taken over by the city of Charlotte. The only relation to the mining term is that the university's founder felt the school embodied the "49er spirit" of California Gold Rush settlers.
Not derived from the title of nobility, but instead from the university's second president, Samuel Page Duke.
Nickname specifically honors 19th-century transportation mogul "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who supplied the university's initial endowment.
Usually refers to the geographic feature, but can also refer to a lake freighter, a ship designed and built for the Great Lakes trade, and by extension to an individual who serves on such a ship.
This school's mascot is a caricatured maritime captain.
This school's athletic logo consists primarily of an anchor.
Sports teams also branded as "The Mount".
Tribal college or university.
Originally founded to educate Native Americans, with longstanding historic ties to the local Lumbee people.
Not a culturally based nickname, but rather on the school's location on Ward Island, a peninsula between Corpus Christi Bay and Oso Bay that is locally treated as an island.
Here, the nickname of "Pilots" refers to the maritime profession.
Franciscan's nickname specifically references its city's namesake, Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben.
The university's formal name is University of Wisconsin–Parkside, but it has branded its athletic program as "Parkside" since 2018.
The nickname is one of the most famous nicknames of the university's namesake, Abraham Lincoln.

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[1] San Francisco State's nickname is not derived from the alligator, but rather the Golden Gate Bridge. The current nickname evolved from an earlier nickname of "Golden Gaters".

[2] The school's formal name is University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, but it brands its athletic program solely as Chattanooga. The nickname of "Mocs" is a contraction of the former nickname of "Moccasins". While the city is located in the Tennessee River's Moccasin Bend, the school's athletic branding had long alluded to Native American stereotypes. The current nickname and athletic imagery strongly emphasize the northern mockingbird, the official state bird of Tennessee.

[4] Evolved from a former nickname of Thoroughbreds; the baseball team was the last to abandon that nickname, doing so in 2014.

[LionOrCougar-5] While this school's nickname is "Lions", its athletic imagery depicts a cougar, also known as "mountain lion".

[6] While the athletic nicknames of all Penn State campuses incorporate the word "Lions" in some way—most notably the Nittany Lions nickname of the main campus—this refers in all cases to the cougar (aka "mountain lion"). The main campus uses a stylized cougar's head in its athletic logo, and one of that campus' most prominent landmarks is a larger-than-life sculpture of a cougar. Most other Penn State campuses feature a replica of this sculpture.

[7] Formally the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, academically branded as "UA Little Rock", but athletically known as Little Rock.

[8] The former women's nickname of "Women of Troy" is still officially acceptable, but has mostly been superseded by Trojans.

[10] Derived from the fact that the institution, which had opened in 1946, was saved from closure in 1949 when it was taken over by the city of Charlotte. The only relation to the mining term is that the university's founder felt the school embodied the "49er spirit" of California Gold Rush settlers.

[11] Not derived from the title of nobility, but instead from the university's second president, Samuel Page Duke.

[12] Nickname specifically honors 19th-century transportation mogul "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who supplied the university's initial endowment.

[13] Usually refers to the geographic feature, but can also refer to a lake freighter, a ship designed and built for the Great Lakes trade, and by extension to an individual who serves on such a ship.

[14] This school's mascot is a caricatured maritime captain.

[15] This school's athletic logo consists primarily of an anchor.

[16] Sports teams also branded as "The Mount".

[Tribal-17] Tribal college or university.

[18] Originally founded to educate Native Americans, with longstanding historic ties to the local Lumbee people.

[19] Not a culturally based nickname, but rather on the school's location on Ward Island, a peninsula between Corpus Christi Bay and Oso Bay that is locally treated as an island.

[MaritimePilot-20] Here, the nickname of "Pilots" refers to the maritime profession.

[21] Franciscan's nickname specifically references its city's namesake, Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben.

[22] The university's formal name is University of Wisconsin–Parkside, but it has branded its athletic program as "Parkside" since 2018.

[23] The nickname is one of the most famous nicknames of the university's namesake, Abraham Lincoln.

[3] [1]
"Mississippi State Traditions".

[9] [2]
"Akron". www.gozips.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-07.

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List_of_college_sports_team_nicknames

Animals

Amphibians/Reptiles (larger category)

Antelopes

Bears (larger category)

Big Cats (larger category excluding Lions and Tigers)

Birds (larger category, excluding Eagles and Hawks)

Cats (larger category, excluding Big Cats)

Cows (larger category)

Bucks

Dogs (larger category)

Eagles (standalone category – multiple sub-categories)

Águilas

Screaming Eagles

Red Foxes

Hawks (standalone category – multiple sub-categories)

Jayhawks

Red Hawks

Skyhawks

Thunderhawks

Warhawks

Horses/Mules (larger category)

Stingers

Lions (standalone category – multiple sub-categories)

Golden Lions

Lyons

Pride

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Prehistoric animals (larger category)

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Fighting Tigers

Golden Tigers

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Thunderwolves

Wolf Pack/Wolfpack

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Red (larger category)

Big Red

Legendary, religious and supernatural figures

Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome (larger category)