In case you weren’t sure, no, tigers are not indigenous to the great state of Tennessee. They actually hail from Asia, and can be found in your nearest zoo or crazy uncle Joe’s backyard with his other exotic “pets.” So, why exactly did the University of Memphis select this fierce feline for its sporting nickname?
What’s a “Tiger?”
According to the “Defenders of Wildlife” website, tigers are the “largest of the felid (cat) family.” They are known for their orange, black and white-striped coats that are used for camouflage, as they are mostly nocturnal ambush predators. They call a host of habitats home, and are notoriously territorial and solitary.
Currently, only around 3,000 to 4,500 tigers exist in the wild, versus the 100,000 or so that roamed the planet in the early 1900s. There used to be nine subspecies of tigers, but three are now completely extinct, one is extinct in the wild and the other five are endangered.
Why the “Tigers?”
According to the official Memphis athletic website, the university first fielded a football team in 1912, and it was without a formal nickname. Early on in the program’s history, the teams were referred to as the “Blue and Gray Warriors of West Tennessee Normal School.” Much to the delight of fans and writers everywhere, that name did not stick.
After the last game of the 1914 season, a student parade was held during which many students chanted “we fight like tigers.” The nickname gained some steam as student publications enjoyed using it, but the university football team didn’t officially recognize it as its nickname until 1922 when the team adopted the motto “Every Man a Tiger.” That season Memphis outscored its opponents 174 to 29.
Even still, the team would be referred to as the “Teachers” or “Tutors” throughout the 1920s, until the university finally adopted the “Tigers” as its official nickname in 1939.
Mascot History
Memphis is one of just two universities in the United States with a live tiger mascot, with LSU’s “Mike” being the other. In my opinion, live mascots are awesome and really add to the pageantry of college football, and Memphis has had a tiger patrolling the sidelines since 1972. The tiger’s name is TOM, which is short for “Tigers of Memphis,” and the current mascot is TOM III who has been there since 2008.
TOM I and TOM II were both cremated upon their deaths, and their remains are side-by-side in the University of Memphis Athletics Hall of Fame.
Memphis also has a costumed tiger mascot named “Pouncer” (featured as the main photo of this article).
Bonus Factoid
The Memphis school colors do not involve orange, but are actually blue and gray. Students selected these colors in the early 1900s because they represented those of the North and South, and thus thought to be a sign of unity for a nation still coping with the impacts of the Civil War.
Mascot Memoirs Series
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