10. UMBC Retrievers
History: The Chesapeake Bay Retriever is the state dog of Maryland. There is a statue of a retriever known as ‘True Grit’ that stands in front of the Retriever Activities Center (RAC); UMBC’s costumed mascot has been known both as True Grit and Fever.
Looks Like: Edward Gorey’s Dog.
History: In the 1910s, the teams became known as the “Silver Foxes” because then-president John McGilvrey raised silver foxes on his farm. After McGilvrey’s controversial firing in 1926, the new administration held a contest to choose a different team name and “Golden Flashes” was chosen.
Looks Like: Angry bird made out of lightning.
History: Merely refers to speakers of the Gaelic languages — Irish, Scottish, and Manx Gaelic — and their ethnic descendants.
Looks Like: Bored fifth grader doodling his three initials into a logo.
7. Siena Saints
History: Alliterative nickname adpoted in reference to the the school’s Catholic foundation and multiple Saints having origins in Siena, Italy.
Looks Like: Either someone confused human saints with St. Bernard dogs, or St. Catherine was actually a dog impersonating a saint, like that one female pope.
History: Cornell’s teams did not have an official name until after 1905, when a recent graduate, Romeyn Berry ‘04, wrote lyrics for a new football song. The lyrics included the words “the big, red team,” and the nickname stuck. In 1915, a live bear named Touchdown first appeared at football games to represent Cornell; the current version, which appears at many of Cornell’s sporting events, is a brown bear costume.
Looks Like: Bear being shamed in the town stocks for inspiring sh*tty gum.
5. University of San Diego Toreros
History: Until 1961, the University of San Diego athletic teams were called the Pioneers because of the “pioneering spirit students embraced during the early years of the university’s existence.” But in the fall of that year, at the suggestion of Bishop Charles Francis Buddy, one of the university’s founders, the teams adopted the nickname the “Toreros,” Spanish for “bullfighters,” keeping with the “friendly relationship” between San Diego and Mexico.
Looks Like: Duke Blue Devil bussing tables in a Mexican theme restaurant.
4. Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils
History: Homage to Mississippi native Robert Johnson, the delta blues musician who allegorically made a deal with the devil.
Looks Like: Futuristic hot sauce bottle.
3. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
History: The operations of Western Kentucky State Normal School were moved from its forerunner, Southern Normal School, to a commanding hill on the southwestern portion of Bowling Green on February 4, 1911. Since the summit of “the Hill” rises 232 feet above nearby Barren River and the comparatively level plain that surrounds it, it was only natural that the athletes who represented the institution should come to be known as the “Hilltoppers.”
Looks Like: It was either this or a hill with an arrow pointing to the top.
History: Tennessee Governor Austin Peay signed a law establishing Austin Peay Normal School on April 26, 1927, hence the name “Governors.”
Looks Like: The Associated Press logo.
1. The Bulldogs of Butler, Drake, Georgia, Gonzaga, and Mississippi State
History: Various, resulting in five of the sixty-four teams in the NCAA field having the nickname “Bulldogs”.
Looks Like: College nickname comer-uppers-with aren’t very creative.
[Nickname history comes from the official team pages and this cool site I found called Wickeypedia; Most logos from here. And for those people confused in the comments, this list refers to 'mascots' meaning the team nicknames, not the teams' actual, costume-wearing crowd-hypers. Apologies for the ambiguity, but I figured "10 most ridiculous nicknames" also would have been unclear.]
