Name-a-Day Calendar, March 15: James Madison Dukes
Page 129 of 365
Chosen in: 1947
Chosen by: Players on the school’s first men’s basketball team
The James Madison Dukes were, at first, simply the Madison Dukes. The school was known as Madison College from 1938-1977, and in 1947 they formed a men’s basketball team that was eager to play but lacked resources. At the time, Madison College was led by longtime president Samuel Page Duke, and the team came to him with a proposal: they’d nickname their team the Dukes in his honor if he’d shell out the money for athletic equipment. He said yes and that was that.
Fast forward to the early 1970s and Madison’s sports programs are thriving. They’re expanding to several different sports and growing their fanbase exponentially. All they’re missing is a mascot. Enter Dr. Ray Sonner, university director of public affairs. Dr. Sonner wracked his brain for a mascot that fit the Dukes name while still functioning as a typical mascot. He didn’t just want the mascot to be an English duke, but then he asked himself the question: what would a duke have for a pet? A bulldog, he decided. And that’s how we got Duke Dog.
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P.S. James Madison’s women’s teams were known as the Duchesses until 1982, at which point they joined the men’s teams in being called the Dukes.