THE TIGER NICKNAME
Towson University acquired its nickname, Tigers, more as a result of persistence than any significant incident, event, occurrence or reference to an indigenous mammal. And like many other American college monikers, Towson’s was the brainchild of its students, particularly, the players on the soccer and baseball teams of the early 1960’s.
John Schuerholz ‘62, an All-Conference selection in both soccer and baseball who would later be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown following successful careers as general manager with the Kansas City Royals and Atlanta Braves, recalled when the issue of a nickname was initially raised among TU’s student-athletes.
“It was late summer and the soccer team was gathered,” Schuerholz said. “Classes hadn’t started yet but (coach) Doc Minnegan contacted those of us he wanted to have on campus early. We were talking about a nickname because it was a subject of interest among us. I can remember having conversations about it with teammates while we were running up and down the field, catching our breath, asking each other – what should our nickname be; what do we really want to be called.”
Up to that point in time, there was nothing official. Over the years Towson State Teachers College teams were randomly referred to as the Normalites, Profs, Knights, Towsonites, Golden Knights, Teachers, Schoolmasters, Indians and the Gold and White.
“Tigers was the preference of those who were involved and it won the day over time,” said Schuerholz, who along with Dick Stack, Ed Lorenz and Lou Winkelman, utilized Towson’s student newspaper,
Tower Light, as a forum to promote their choice. Without any fanfare the nickname suddenly appeared in the Sept. 23, 1960 edition when Schuerholz penned in a column entitled
A Note to the Fans “…. With the new decorations, and the P.A. system ready to relay the play-by-play action, the
Towson Tigers are ready to top it off with some great soccer and determined effort …. Look forward to top-rate soccer this year from the Towson Tigers.”
Throughout the 1960 soccer season Schuerholz, Stack and Lorenz kept up the crusade, referring to the team as the Towson Tigers in every column, advance and game story they wrote for the
Tower Light. However, the winter sports reporters reverted to Knights, Teachers and Towsonites. Tigers resurfaced for the 1961 spring sports with lacrosse and baseball assuming the moniker. In that year’s May 19
th final edition of the student newspaper all teams were identified as Tigers.
The campaign reached a crescendo the following September when sports editor Lou Winkelman tagged his column “Tiger Tales.” Finally, on Tuesday, Nov. 20, 1962, with the Student Senate in session, Winkelman moved “that Towson sportsmen be officially known as the Tigers.” The motion carried unanimously. The following year the mascot debuted in the 1963 Homecoming parade when Winkelman marched in a tiger suit he had rented from a local costume shop.
TU is one of 13 NCAA Division I athletics programs utilizing the nickname “Tigers” along with Auburn (SEC), Clemson (ACC), Grambling State (SWA), Jackson State (SWA), LSU (SEC), Memphis (Conference USA), Missouri (Big 12), Pacific (Big West), Princeton (Ivy), Savannah State (MEAC), Tennessee State (Ohio Valley) and Texas Southern (SWA). It is the second most popular Division I nickname. Bulldogs tops the list at 14.
THE TIGER LOGO
Like its nickname, Towson’s athletics logo experienced an evolution that included eight different renditions before the University adopted the mark that has stood as the official brand since 2002.
Initially the published depictions of the tiger were random selections from clip art or freehanded cartoons. The cover of the 1970 football game program represented the athletic department’s first attempt to display a graphic. It featured a paste-up montage of a tiger’s head, a helmet and a football. From 1975 to 1977 a head mascot logo appeared. In 1978 athletics borrowed the University seal and inserted its tiger head.
The first crafted logo was introduced in 1979 in the form of the block tiger which prevailed for six years. In 1984 the athletics department conducted a contest open to all Towson students, faculty and staff to submit renderings for a new look tiger. A student, Ken Schumann, was judged to have the best entry. His upright caricature reigned from 1985 to 1994.
The logo underwent two quick revisions in 1995-96. The mascot head reappeared overtop “Towson State” in a college font. That was altered a short time later, deleting “State” in keeping with the university’s renaming of Towson University in 1996 from Towson State University.
In 2001 Associate Athletics Director for External Affairs Andy Bilello initiated the department’s search for a contemporary design that would complement the University’s new “swoosh” mark. Athletics was also preparing to launch a new website and needed a fresher image to lead the way online.
“It was a time when we needed a much stronger presence online,” said Billelo. “We started working on TowsonTigers.com during the same period. So coordinating a new look for athletics included a logo and new website. Even the possibility of breathing life into our merchandise for the campus community all started coming up with an improved logo.”
Working with a local agency, MGH Advertising, Billelo was given several different graphic depictions of the Tiger with a side profile. By chance he bumped into members of the Tiger men’s basketball team. “I took the opportunity to show them the designs,” Billelo said. “One of the players mentioned he really liked the front of one logo with the face of the Tiger but he thought the back of the Tiger’s head from a different design had the stripes trailing off to a point was better. He asked if we could combine the two looks into one logo. Made sense to me.”
Billelo also suggested the inclusion of an eye as the designers integrated the two earlier drafts. “As soon as I saw that version I was confident that we had something that the athletes – present and future – would like,” he said. The font was then added. On Aug. 19, 2002 the University rolled out the finished product system wide. It has served as the brand ever since.
There are restrictions regarding the use of the marks. For information contact the university’s Creative Services department.
