Name-a-Day Calendar, February 14: Georgia State Panthers
Page 100 of 365
Chosen in: 1956
Chosen by: Student body vote
In its 110-year history, the campus of what is now Georgia State University has been affiliated with both major public universities in the state. It started out in 1913 as an evening college for Georgia Tech. Eventually, the campus grew its own culture and even its own sports teams, which college administration nicknamed the Owls on account of the school’s nocturnal nature.
In 1947, the school cut ties with Georgia Tech and became an extension center of the University of Georgia. They changed their athletic nickname to further revamp their identity: they were now the Ramblers.
Then, finally, in 1955, they’d break away from the University of Georgia to become their own distinct college. This is when the Georgia State name came about, but the school kept calling their sports teams the Ramblers for one more year while they recalibrated. In 1956, they held a student body vote to determine a new nickname and “Panthers” was the winner. We don’t know who suggested the nickname or why, but it’s stuck ever since.
Fun fact: the first Google result for “Georgia State Panthers mascot” is a fake LinkedIn profile.
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