Wikipedia

List of college sports team nicknames in North America

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.

Animals edit

Aardvarks edit

Amphibians/Reptiles (larger category) edit

Frogs edit

Gators edit

Geckos edit

Antelopes edit

"Antelope" is a common term in North American English for the pronghorn, which is only distantly related to the true antelopes. All schools listed here derive their nicknames from the pronghorn.

Armadillos edit

Badgers edit

Bearcats edit

Bears (larger category) edit

Black Bears edit

Bruins edit

Golden Bears edit

Grizzlies edit

Kodiaks edit

Polar Bears edit

Big Cats (larger category excluding Lions and Tigers) edit

Bobcats edit

Catamounts edit

Cougars edit

Jaguars edit

Leopards edit

Lynx edit

Mountain Lions edit

Panthers edit

Pumas edit

Wildcats edit

Many of these schools have a bobcat as a mascot. "Wildcat" is a common name for that animal in North American English.

Birds (larger category, excluding Eagles and Hawks) edit

Bantams edit

Blue Jays edit

Bluejays edit

Cardinals edit

Chaparrals edit

Condors edit

Ducks edit

Falcons edit

Gamecocks edit

Gulls edit

Herons edit

Ospreys edit

Owls edit

Peacocks edit

Pelicans edit

Penguins edit

Raptors edit

Ravens edit

Roadrunners edit

Bison edit

Buffaloes edit

Camels edit

Cats (larger category, excluding Big Cats) edit

Cows (larger category) edit

Bulls edit

Mavericks edit

Coyotes edit

Deer edit

Bucks edit

Stags edit

Dogs (larger category) edit

Bulldogs edit

Greyhounds edit

Huskies edit

Saints edit

Salukis edit

Scotties edit

Terriers edit

Eagles (standalone category – multiple sub-categories) edit

Águilas edit

Bald Eagles edit

Golden Eagles edit

Screaming Eagles edit

Foxes edit

Red Foxes edit

Hawks (standalone category – multiple sub-categories) edit

Jayhawks edit

Nighthawks edit

Red Hawks edit

River Hawks edit

Riverhawks edit

Seahawks edit

Skyhawks edit

Thunderhawks edit

Warhawks edit

Horses/Mules (larger category) edit

Broncos edit

Colts edit

Mustangs edit

Palominos edit

Ponies edit

Stallions edit

Thoroughbreds edit

Insects edit

Bees edit

Boll Weevils edit

Hornets edit

Stingers edit

Yellow Jackets edit

Yellowjackets edit

Lions (standalone category – multiple sub-categories) edit

Golden Lions edit

Lyons edit

Pride edit

Marine animals (larger category) edit

Dolphins edit

Muskies edit

Sharks edit

Marsupials (larger category) edit

Kangaroos edit

Moose edit

Otters edit

Prehistoric animals (larger category) edit

Mastodons edit

Rams edit

Bighorn Sheep edit

Golden Rams edit

Rodents (larger category) edit

Beavers edit

Gophers edit

Squirrels edit

Snakes (larger category) edit

Cobras edit

Rattlers edit

Tigers (standalone category – multiple sub-categories) edit

Bengals edit

Fighting Tigers edit

Golden Tigers edit

Wild Pigs edit

Wolverines edit

Wolves (larger category) edit

Lobos edit

Red Wolves edit

Seawolves edit

Thunderwolves edit

Timberwolves edit

Wolf Pack/Wolfpack edit

Colors edit

Blue (larger category) edit

Blues edit

Gold (larger category) edit

Green (larger category) edit

Purple (larger category) edit

Red (larger category) edit

Big Red edit

Maroons edit

Legendary, religious and supernatural figures edit

Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome (larger category) edit

Argonauts edit

Centurions edit

Gladiators edit

Spartans edit

Titans edit

Tritons edit

Trojans edit

Vulcans edit

Christian symbols/figures (larger category) edit

Battling Bishops edit

Blue Angels edit

Crusades/Crusaders edit

Deacons edit

Evangels/Preachers edit

Fighting Saints edit

Saints edit

Demons and Devils edit

Blue Demons edit

Blue Devils edit

Red Devils edit

Dragons edit

Red Dragons edit

Giants edit

Griffins edit

Griffons edit

Gryphons edit

Phantoms edit

Phoenix edit

Firebirds edit

Spirits edit

Spirit edit

Thunderbirds edit

Miscellaneous edit

Beacons edit

Blazers edit

Lasers edit

Nickname based upon college name edit

Tommies edit

Nickname based upon college tradition/figure edit

Sabers/Sabres edit

Vehicles (larger category) edit


Clippers edit

Jets edit

Rockets edit

Nature/outer space edit

Comets edit

Electricity (larger category) edit

Lightning edit

Flames edit

Hurricanes edit

Mounties edit

Note: "Mounties" can refer to either the geographic feature or, in Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Mount Allison's nickname may possibly come from either source; U.S. schools would use the geographic feature.

Plants (larger category) edit

Mighty Oaks edit

Oaks edit

Stars edit

Storm edit

Red Storm edit

Suns edit

Thunder edit

Tornadoes edit

Cyclones edit

Wave/Waves edit

People edit

Academic occupations (larger category) edit

Agricultural occupations (larger category) edit

Aggies edit

Wranglers edit

Belles edit

Cowboys (larger category) edit

Gauchos edit

Rough Riders/Roughriders edit

Rustlers edit

Vaqueros edit

Engineers edit

Exploration (larger category) edit

Conquistadors edit

Voyageurs edit

Foresters edit

Hilltoppers edit

Knights (standalone category – large quantity) edit

Blue Knights edit

Golden Knights edit

Green Knights edit

Purple Knights edit

Marauders edit

Maritime (larger category) edit

Buccaneers edit

Commodores edit

Corsairs edit

Lakers[k] edit

Mariners edit

Pirates edit

Privateers edit

Matadors edit

Military (larger category) edit

Archers edit

Cadets edit

Cannoneers edit

Cavaliers edit

Chargers edit

Colonels edit

Colonials edit

Conquerors edit

Defenders edit

Generals edit

Lancers edit

Paladins edit

Sentinels edit

Vanguards edit

Miners (larger category) edit

Mountaineers edit

Mystics edit

Nickname based upon Indigenous peoples edit

Apaches edit

Aztecs edit

Braves edit

Chiefs edit

Indians edit

Nickname based on cultures/peoples (not Indigenous American) edit

Dutch/Dutchmen edit

Fighting Scots edit

Gaels edit

Highlanders edit

Islanders edit

Norse edit

Quakers edit

U.S. state nicknames edit

Scots edit

Texans edit

Volunteers edit

Western European groups edit

Vikings edit

Pacers edit

Pilots edit

Flyers edit

Pioneers edit

Plainsmen edit

Pipers edit

Political movements (larger category) edit

Patriots edit

Patriotes edit

Rebels edit

Renegades edit

Political/royal occupations (larger category) edit

Ambassadors edit

Barons edit

Dons edit

Dukes edit

Governors edit

Monarchs edit

Royals edit

Senators edit

Statesmen edit

Raiders edit

Blue Raiders edit

Red Raiders edit

Rangers edit

Tartans edit

Trailblazers edit

Trades (larger category) edit

Brewers edit

Loggers edit

Lumberjacks edit

Warriors edit

See also edit

Footnotes edit

  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.
  3. ^ Evolved from a former nickname of Thoroughbreds; the baseball team was the last to abandon that nickname, doing so in 2014.
  4. ^ a b While this school's nickname is "Lions", its athletic imagery depicts a cougar, also known as "mountain lion".
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ Formally the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, academically branded as "UA Little Rock", but athletically known as Little Rock.
  7. ^ The former women's nickname of "Women of Troy" is still officially acceptable, but has mostly been superseded by Trojans.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ Not derived from the title of nobility, but instead from the university's second president, Samuel Page Duke.
  10. ^ Nickname specifically honors 19th-century transportation mogul "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who supplied the university's initial endowment.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ This school's mascot is a caricatured maritime captain.
  13. ^ This school's athletic logo consists primarily of an anchor.
  14. ^ Sports teams also branded as "The Mount".
  15. ^ a b c Tribal college or university.
  16. ^ Originally founded to educate Native Americans, with longstanding historic ties to the local Lumbee people.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ a b Here, the nickname of "Pilots" refers to the maritime profession.
  19. ^ Franciscan's nickname specifically references its city's namesake, Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben.
  20. ^ The university's formal name is University of Wisconsin–Parkside, but it has branded its athletic program as "Parkside" since 2018.
  21. ^ The nickname is one of the most famous nicknames of the university's namesake, Abraham Lincoln.

References edit

  1. ^ "Mississippi State Traditions".
  2. ^ "Akron". www.gozips.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-07.
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