Name-a-Day Calendar, December 30: Colgate Raiders
Page 54 of 365
Chosen in: 2001
Chosen by: School administration
Colgate University first fielded a football team in 1890 and a men’s basketball team in 1900 but neither received an official nickname until 1932. It was then that Dexter Teed, the school’s director of journalism, noted the football team’s ferocious play in their burgundy uniforms and dubbed them the “Red Raiders”, a name that quickly caught on to refer to all of Colgate’s intercollegiate athletics.
This name wasn’t originally meant to have anything to do with Native Americans but it was ultimately bastardized to that effect; questionable mascots and logos gradually became commonplace at Colgate sporting events. In the mid-1970s, the university rather suddenly put a stop to these practices and dumped all official Native American imagery.
Unfortunately, the damage had already been done. Alumni and fans continued to associate the name “Red Raiders” with Native American imagery whether they liked it or not. Finally, on August 15, 2001 — upon the recommendation of the Campus Committee on Athletics, the athletic director, and even the president of the university — Colgate’s Board of Trustees dropped the word “Red” from their nickname, officially branding themselves the “Raiders”.
Colgate would introduce their current mascot, simply named “Raider”, in 2006. It’s definitely not Lord Farquaad; stop saying that.
Previous page: Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
Next page: Colorado Buffaloes
Find every page at the Name-a-Day Calendar hub!