The 9 Most Common Team Nicknames In College Basketball

There are over 360 college basketball teams competing at the Division I level this season, and while there is no shortage of nicknames to pick from, there are certain monikers that have been adopted by a number of different schools.

These are the most commonly shared nicknames among college basketball teams

I recently took a look at the college basketball teams with the most unique nicknames at the Division I level, and I figured I’d take a glance at the other end of the spectrum to determine which ones are the most unoriginal.

Before we dive in, I should note that I’m only counting the official name as opposed to variations (“Hawks” and various iterations would be near the top of the list if I were casting a wider net). I’m also denoting which team historically reigns supreme based on the picture I picked for each entry, so feel free to yell at me if you disagree with my choice.

T-9. Huskies: 5

 

Schools: Houston Christian, Northeastern, NIU, UConn, Washington

There are some entries where I had to grapple with a couple of candidates when it came to selecting a picture, but I definitely don’t have to do that when UConn is part of the conversation.

T-9. Spartans: 5

Schools: Michigan State, Norfolk State, San Jose State, USC, USC Upstate

This was another no-brainer. USC might have a rivalry with the USC in South Carolina when it comes to football supremacy, but Michigan State are the Spartans on the basketball court.

T-6. Cougars

Schools: BYU, Chicago State, College of Charleston, Houston, SIU Edwardsville, Washington State

I’ll be discussing a variation on Cougars in a moment, and as is the case with that entry, a good chunk of these schools are located in states where there aren’t any cougars in the wild; neither Illinois nor South Carolina can lay claim to them.

T-6. Lions: 6

Schools: Columbia, East Texas A&M, Lindenwood, Loyola Marymount, North Alabama, Southeastern Louisiana

I’m not counting the most notable teams with this big cat in its name due to Penn State’s classification as the Nittany Lions, and Arkansas-Pine Bluff also misses the cut as the Golden Lions.

It was slim pickings when it came to the most accomplished team, and Loyola Marymount gets the nod by default thanks to their run to the Elite Eight in 1990 (which is also the last time they’ve punched their ticket to March Madness).

5. Bears: 7

Schools: Baylor, Brown, Central Arkansas, Mercer, Morgan State, Missouri State, Northern Colorado

Bears would jump a spot on this list if I wasn’t being overly strict, as it would end up in fourth place with nine if Maine (Black Bears) and Cal (Golden Bears) were taken into consideration.

4. Panthers: 8

Schools: Eastern Illinois, High Point, FIU, Georgia State, Milwaukee, Northern Iowa, Pitt, Prairie View A&M

Most of the schools that have adopted “panther” as their nickname have a mascot that most people would refer to as a cougar, and Florida International and Texas’ Prairie View A&M are the only ones located in states that currently have a documented breeding population in the wild.

T-3. Eagles: 10

Schools: American, Boston College, Coppin State, Eastern Michigan, Eastern Washington, Florida Gulf Coast, Georgia Southern, Morehead State, North Carolina Central, Winthrop

If we were taking various permutations of “Eagles” into the equation here, this would have ended up at the top of the list with 16. Marquette, Oral Roberts, Southern Miss, and Tennessee Tech are all the “Golden Eagles,” while Niagara and Southern Indiana have adopted “Purple” and “Screaming” as modifiers, respectively.

T-3. Wildcats: 10

Schools: Abilene Christian, Arizona, Bethune-Cookman, Davidson, Kansas State, Kentucky, Northwestern, UNH, Villanova, Weber State

I’d argue Davidson is responsible for producing the basketball player who can be described as the best Wildcat of all time courtesy of Steph Curry, although Kentucky still firmly lays claim to that nickname when it comes to the team that’s fared best over time.

There’s also no name on this list that’s more conducive to national championships, as Kentucky, Arizona, and Villanova have all won the NCAA Tournament.

2. Tigers: 12

Schools: Auburn, Clemson, LSU, Grambling State, Jackson State, Memphis, Missouri, Princeton, Tennessee State, Texas Southern, Towson, University of the Pacific

25% of the college basketball teams that have adopted “Tigers” are members of the SEC, and I feel like we need to organize a multisport tournament to figure out which one gets to keep it while forcing the other two to find a new name.

1. Bulldogs: 14

Schools: Alabama A&M, Bryant, Butler, The Citadel, Drake, Fresno State, Georgia, Gonzaga, Louisiana Tech, Mississippi State, Samford, SC State, UNC-Ashville, Yale

Last, and definitely not least, we have the Bulldogs. It’s worth noting this would be 15 if we were counting Gardner-Webb, which technically stands alone as the only school in the country known as the “Runnin’ Bulldogs.”