Name-a-Day Calendar, August 15: Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks and Ladyjacks
Page 282 of 365
Chosen in: 1923 / c. 1938
Chosen by: English professor T.E. Ferguson / women’s sports administrator Dr. Lucille Norton and physical education professor Dr. June Irwin
Stephen F. Austin State Teachers College first opened its doors in 19231 and began playing football the same year. Before that team took the field, a schoolwide assembly was held to determine the mascot. Several students and faculty tried to rally the assembly for their own suggestion, but one clearly rose above all the rest: “Lumberjacks”, suggested by English professor T.E. Ferguson on account of the school’s location in a thick pine forest in Deep East Texas. Never has a Stephen F. Austin men’s sports team played while not being known as the Lumberjacks.
The women’s teams have also held one nickname since inception: Ladyjacks. Unlike many women-specific college sports nicknames, this moniker was actually chosen by women—specifically, longtime women’s sports administrator Dr. Lucille Norton and longtime physical education professor Dr. June Irwin. They coined this nickname around the time the women’s basketball team first took the court c. 1938.
Stephen F. Austin has a human dress in a lumberjack outfit to serve as their mascot. It’s not a big ‘ol cartoon costume or anything; the identity isn’t hidden at all. The mascot is considered part of the cheer team and earns a partial scholarship.
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Became Stephen F. Austin State College in 1949 and Stephen F. Austin State University in 1969