Athletic nickname The athletic nickname , or equivalently athletic moniker , of a university or college within the United States is the name officially adopted by that institution for at least the members of its athletic team s . Typically as a matter of engendering school spirit , the institution either officially or unofficially uses this moniker of the institution ' s athletic teams also as a nickname to refer to people associated with the institution , especially its current student s , but also often its alumni , its faculty , and its administration as well . This practice at the university and college tertiary higher - education level has proven so popular that it extended to the high school secondary - education level in the USA and in recent years even to the primary - education level as well . Themes . In the USA , multiple recurring themes have appeared over time for choosing a school ' s athletic nickname . In almost all cases , the institution chooses an athletic nickname with an overtly positive goal in mind , where that goal reflects the character of the institution — either a previously established characteristic or a characteristic hoped for as a goal henceforth . Abstract concept . Often by choosing an abstract concept as its athletic moniker , the institution wants to inspire its student - athletes on and off the field to achieve success that the abstract concept represents . Examples : Stanford Cardinal , UIC Flames , Tulane Green Wave Animal . Often by choosing an animal , the school wants to emphasize the instillation of fear of losing athletic competititons to the institution ' s teams , such as through an especially fierce or stealthy animal . When the school chooses an animal as its athletic nickname , usually in the plural or as a collective noun for a group of that animal , then typically , the school has that animal ( in the singular ) as its mascot , either specifically named with a proper noun or generically referred to without a proper noun . Examples : Michigan Wolverines , Oregon Ducks , Princeton Tigers , Wisconsin Badgers , California Golden Bears . Collection . Often by choosing a collection that represents a summary of the institution ' s students or of its history . Such a collection may refer to an ethnicity ; a profession ; religious designation , such as saints ; or other groupings of people . A portion of athletic monikers that fall into this collection category started originally as derogatory epithet s from others , but as an act of defiance , the school embraced the term as a rallying cry to overcome the term ' s negative origin . Because a collection is hard to represent or icon ify , when a school chooses a collection as its athletic nickname , the school typically chooses a related but different mascot that symbolizes that collection . Examples : Notre Dame Fighting Irish , Oklahoma Sooners , Purdue Boilermakers , Illinois Fighting Illini Hero or archetype . A small number of schools choose an archetypical heroic person as their official athletic nickname . This person may be a graduate of the school who is viewed as embodying the school ' s mission or an archetypal person who is symbolic of the school ' s area , such as the West Virginia University Mountaineer . In religiously - affiliated schools , this person may be a historical person in the religion who has been bestowed an official designation in that religion , such as a saint in Roman Catholic or Orthodox Christianity . Native American likeness . Likenesses to Native American s were at one time widely - popular athletic monikers , especially for schools that adopted them in the 19th or early 20th century . In recent years , some Native American organizations have protested the unlicensed use of likenesses of Native Americans related to team names , team logo s , athletic monikers , cheerleader s , and cheering techniques . The granting of overtly - expressed written licenses by Native American organizations to use likenesses of Native Americans in these ways is rare , although not unheard of . In one notable example , two major groups of the Seminole nation , the Seminole Tribe of Florida and Seminole Nation of Oklahoma , have expressly given Florida State University permission to use the nickname " Seminoles " and certain Seminole imagery . Central Michigan University has a similar arrangement with the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe to use the name " Chippewas " . Because of protests from some Native American organizations , some schools have changed their athletic moniker and mascot and cheering practices without significant objection once the issue was raised , especially if such offense toward a group of people was viewed as incompatible with that school ' s stated mission or if the threat of legal action was too burdensome . Other schools or their student bodies have defended their use of Native American likenesses , especially if the institution views the use of Native American likenesses as respectful or so intimately tied with history to be inseparable from the institution , such as if the name of institution derives from the name of a tribe . Still other schools have embarked on a selection of a series of failed attempts to find a replacement . Common and uncommon names . Often , certain nicknames ( animals and some abstract concepts , such as Giants , Broncos , or Wildcats ) become very common . However , some nicknames are unique to that school / team such as Illini or Demon Deacons .