Trinity Tigers The Trinity Tigers is the nickname for the sports teams of Trinity University in San Antonio , Texas . They participate in the NCAA ' s Division III and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference . The school mascot is LeeRoy , a Bengal Tiger . In the 1950s , LeeRoy was an actual tiger who was brought to sporting events , but today LeeRoy is portrayed by a student wearing a tiger suit . Trinity has historically had a strong tennis program , with both the men ' s and women ' s programs winning national championships in 2000 . The men ' s program also won the national championship in 2003 . In recent years , Trinity has reached the national Division III playoffs in several sports , including football , women ' s basketball ( 2003 national champions ) , volleyball , baseball , women ' s cross country , men ' s and women ' s track and field and men ' s and women ' s soccer ( men ' s team won the national title in 2003 and placed second in 2007 ) . In the past , Trinity was a Division I tennis power , under tennis coach Clarency Mabry , winning the men ' s NCAA championship in 1972 , as well as being runners up in 1970 , 1971 , 1977 and 1979 . The women ' s team captured the first USLTA women ' s collegiate championship in 1968 and won several more titles . In the early 1960s the program was home to arguably some of the best tennis players in the world , and bypassed the NCAA tournament to enter Wimbledon . In 1963 , Chuck McKinley of Trinity won the Wimbledon Men ' s Singles Championship . He was also the runner up in 1961 . Other than McKinley , famous tennis players to attend Trinity included Butch Newman , Bob McKinley , Frank Froehling , Dick Stockton , Bill Scanlon and Gretchen Magers . In 2011 - 12 , the Trinity sports program reclaimed Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference " President ' s Trophy , " awarded to the school in the conference that has the best overall sports record for the year , for the first time in seven seasons . Prior to that drought the Tigers had won the award eleven out of the preceeding twelve seasons . Club sports include men ' s and women ' s Lacrosse , Water Polo , and Trap and Skeet . In spite of these accomplishments Trinity athletics may be most famous for the “ Mississippi Miracle ” executed by the Tiger football team . 2007 Trinity vs . Millsaps football game On October 27 , 2007 , in a game played in Jackson , Mississippi , against conference rival Millsaps College , Trinity trailed by two points with two seconds left . With time for only one more play and needing to score a touchdown to win , the Tigers ran the “ hook and lateral play , ” in which a receiver runs a short hook route , and then laterals the ball to a trailing player . After the first lateral the Millsaps defense was not fooled and seemed about to tackle the ball carrier and end the game . At this point the Tigers showed their knowledge of rugby by lining up across the field , rather than gathering in front of the ball carrier as is typical in American football . This meant that there was always a Tiger player in position , either even with or behind the ball carrier , to legally receive another lateral . Every time the Millsaps defense closed on the ball carrier the Trinity player was able to complete a legal lateral to a teammate . In what ESPN said may have been the " longest play in football history , " in terms of time elapsed ( sixty seconds exactly ) , Trinity completed 15 laterals before breaking through the Millsaps defense for a 61 yard touchdown . The score , known in Jackson , MS as the “ Major Disaster , ” ( Millsaps ’ nickname is “ The Majors ” ) gave Trinity the victory and ultimately led to the conference championship . The Trinity community is especially proud of this play because it demonstrated not only the Tigers ' athletic ability , but also their intelligence and poise under pressure . . The unlikely play was named the top sports moment of the year by Time Magazine as well as the " Game Changing Performance of the Year " by Pontiac . Trinity was the overall number one team in Texas from 1996 to 2008 .