Category Archives: Cool names and cool logos

July 20, 2010 · 12:11 am

THE 20 COOLEST COLLEGE SPORTS LOGOS

After the phenomenal reaction to my list of The 20 Coolest-Named College Sports Teams You May Never Have Heard Of I’ve put together another Top 20 list. (NOTE: THIS LIST WAS DONE BACK WHEN MY BLOG WAS ONLY COVERING NAIA TEAMS)

To be fair no schools listed in the initial Top 20 list are included, no matter how cool their logo is. Nor are any schools featured if they have been a Cool-Named Sports Team Of The Day. As before this list of 20 is in no particular order and I’ll record votes for the next 20 days for which school has THE coolest logo. You can cast your vote by contacting me at Thtcom15@aol.com .

20. WAYLAND BAPTIST PIONEERS/FLYING QUEENS

Location: Plainview, TX

Conference Affiliation: Sooner Athletic Conference

Major sports: football, basketball, baseball, soccer

Site: http://www.wbuathletics.com/

Comment: Pioneers is a pretty spiffy name for your sports teams but when I first saw that logo I thought their teams might be called “The Flying W’s” as in a cattle brand. It would be a unique nickname and still have a connection to their Texas heritage.

19. LANGSTON LIONS

Location: Langston, OK

Conference Affiliation: Red River Athletic Conference

Major sports: football, basketball

Site: http://www.luathletics.com/

Comment: I swear to you I have never before seen a lion this angry at the letters “L” and “U”! I thought lions were carnivores, not alphabetivores.

18. SIOUX FALLS COUGARS

Location: Sioux Falls, SD

Conference Affiliation: Great Plains Athletic Conference

Major sports: football, basketball, baseball, soccer

Site: http://www.usfcougars.com/

Comment: No matter how many times I see it, there’s just something about this logo that reminds me of my local Lincoln Mercury Dealer. You know what I mean?

17. WESTMINSTER GRIFFINS

Location: Salt Lake City, UT

Conference Affiliation: Frontier Conference

Major sports: basketball, soccer

Site: http://westminstergriffins.com/

Comment: No doubt about it! This Griffin looks like he could tear the more sedate Griffin in the Merv Griffin Productions logo limb from limb!

16. PARK (MO) PIRATES

Location: Parkville, MO

Conference Affiliation: American Midwest Conference

Major sports: basketball, baseball, soccer

Site: http://www.parkathletics.com/

Comment: Now THIS is a swashbuckling logo that puts all other Pirates teams to shame! I always throw in the MO because if you run the words “Park” and “Pirates” together it sounds like they’re people who raid recreational areas. “They’re marauders of the monkey bars…plunderers of the playground…They’re PARK PIRATES, coming this fall on CBS!” (This is the favorite of my good friend Rachel Laird, a big supporter of Balladeer’s Blog!)

15. CAL BAPTIST LANCERS

Location: Riverside, CA

Conference Affiliation: Golden State Athletic Conference

Major sports: basketball, baseball, soccer

Site: http://www.cbulancers.com/

Comment: I really like this logo. It’s got kind of a Knights Of The Round Table In The 25th Century look. And that gives me a title for my next screenplay!

14. LSU-SHREVEPORT PILOTS

Location: Shreveport, LA

Conference Affiliation: Gulf Coast Athletic Conference

Major sports: basketball, baseball, soccer

Site: http://www.lsus.edu/athletics/

Comment: This institution’s teams are called pilots as in riverboat pilots. I’m sure we all remember a riverboat pilot who went on to become one of the most popular and beloved authors in American history. That author’s name, of course, is Tom Clancy, “and now you know the rest of the story.”

13. WALSH CAVALIERS

Location: North Canton, OH

Conference Affiliation: American Mideast Conference

Major sports: football, basketball, baseball, soccer

Site: http://www.walsh.edu/athletics

Comment: I don’t care which side of the English Civil War your sympathies are with, the Walsh University Roundheads just wouldn’t have the same pizzaz that Cavaliers does. (And Dan McCallion, Head Track Coach and Cross Country Coach at Walsh has informed me that the Walsh Cavaliers were around long before the Cleveland Cavaliers came along. And let me add that Walsh has never been jilted by a guy who wears short pants for a living.)

12. PERU STATE BOBCATS

Location: Peru, NE

Conference Affiliation: Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference

Major sports: football, basketball, baseball

Site: http://www.peru.edu/athletics/

Comment: The lesser-know Peruvian toothless breed of Bobcat seen in this picture is every bit as deadly as the regular kind!

11. Lindsey Wilson College Blue Raiders

Location: Columbia, KY

Conference Affiliation: Mid-South Conference

Major sports: football, basketball, baseball, soccer

Site: http://www.lindseyathletics.com/

Comment: Not to be confused with the Orange Ravagers or the Maroon Invaders, this Kentucky school is launching football this fall.

10. VANGUARD LIONS

Location: Costa Mesa, CA

Conference Affiliation: Golden State Athletic Conference

Major sports: basketball, baseball, soccer

Site: http://www.vanguard.edu/Athletics/tabid/564/Default.aspx

Comment: Do the mascots of other schools who use the name Lions for their sports teams ever say to the V.U. mascot, “Get a haircut, ya hippy!”

9. NORTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA RANGERS

Location: Alva, OK

Conference Affiliation: Sooner Athletic Conference

Major sports: football, basketball, baseball, soccer, rodeo

Site: http://www.nwosu.edu/athletics

Comment: That’s right, this school is one of the last few who still offer Rodeo as an intercollegiate sport. And that is one butt-kicking, bucking-bronco riding logo!

8. MidAmerica Nazarene Pioneers

Location: Olathe, KS

Conference Affiliation: Heart of America Athletic Conference

Major sports: football, basketball, baseball, soccer

Site: http://www.mnu.edu/athletics.html

Comment: You have to love how the logo makes their mascot look like a superhero. “It’s Pioneer Man and his sidekick Scout Boy, blazing a trail toward Truth, Justice and The American Way!”

7. SAINT FRANCIS (IN) COUGARS

Location: Fort Wayne, IN

Conference Affiliation: Mid-Central Conference

Major sports: football, basketball, baseball, soccer

Site: http://www.saintfranciscougars.com/

Comment: I looked it up and Saint Francis is indeed the Patron Saint of cougars. Also of ocelots and jaguars. Who knew?

6. SPRING HILL COLLEGE BADGERS

Location: Mobile, AL

Conference Affiliation: Gulf Coast Athletic Conference

Major sports: basketball, baseball, soccer

Site: http://www.shcbadgers.com/

Comment: This logo manages to be cool and menacing all at the same time. Do the fans of opposing teams hold up signs that say “Badgers? We don’t need no stinking Badgers!”

5. SOUTHERN POLYTECHNIC RUNNING HORNETS

Location: Marietta, GA

Conference Affiliation: Southern States Athletic Conference

Major sports: basketball, baseball, soccer

Site: http://www.spsu.edu/recreation/index.html

Comment: Not only is this logo perfect for any sports team but it would also make a great calling card for the fictional hero The Green Hornet.

4. TABOR COLLEGE BLUEJAYS

Location: Hillsboro, KS

Conference Affiliation: Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference

Major sports: football, basketball, baseball, soccer

Site: http://www.taborbluejays.com/

Comment: A version of this cool logo used to be on the Tabor College football helmets but recently they’ve changed their helmet decal to a less eye-catching “TC”. Bring back the bird! (I’ve been advised that the Bluejays may indeed return to the previous helmets! And they say you can’t fight city hall!)

3. OKLAHOMA BAPTIST BISON

Location: Shawnee, OK

Conference Affiliation: Sooner Athletic Conference

Major sports: basketball, baseball, soccer

Site: http://www.obubison.com/sport/6/10.php

Comment: Love that logo! And rumor has it this team’s biggest in-state rival is that Oklahoma Presbyterian Pumas team you’ve heard so much about.

2. TEXAS COLLEGE STEERS

Location: Tyler, TX

Conference Affiliation: Red River Athletic Conference

Major sports: football, basketball, baseball, soccer

Site: http://www.texascollege.edu/athletics/

Comment: T.C. can stand for Top Cat, Tim Cowlishaw, Tin Croissants but especially for Texas College. And that logo kicks tail plus those horns on the “T” would let you know where this school is from even without it being spelled out.

1. WARNER PACIFIC KNIGHTS

Location: Portland, OR

Conference Affiliation: Cascade Collegiate Conference

Major sports: basketball, soccer

Site: http://www.wpcknights.com/

Comment: From Merrye Olde Portlande comes this team of Knights.Given the team’s American Northwest location I’m wondering if their coat of arms has a Starbucks logo and a cloud with rain pouring out of it.

MORE COOL STUFF

The 20 Coolest-Named USCAA and NCCAA Sports Teams – https://glitternight.com/2010/11/24/the-20-coolest-named-uscaa-and-nccaa-sports-teams/

For the 20 Coolest-Named JUCO Sports Teams click here: https://glitternight.com/2010/10/18/the-20-coolest-named-juco-sports-teams/

For more cool named teams that weren’t on the Top 20 List click here: https://glitternight.com/category/cool-names-and-cool-logos/

For my list of cool-named sports teams click here: https://glitternight.com/2010/06/21/the-20-coolest-named-college-sports-teams-you-may-have-never-heard-of-naia-edition/

For the NCAA Division 2 Coolest-Named College Sports Teams click here: https://glitternight.com/d2-20-coolest/

For The 20 Coolest Football Helmets In NCAA Division 3 click here: https://glitternight.com/2010/08/23/the-20-coolest-football-helmets-in-ncaa-division-3/

Balladeer’s Blog is not affiliated with or operated by the NAIA or any member institutions.

© Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog, 2010. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

78 Comments

Filed under Cool names and cool logos

Tagged as college baseball, college basketball, college football, college soccer, college sports, humor, NAIA sports, sports, sports logos

July 18, 2010 · 2:43 pm

TODAY’S COOL-NAMED SPORTS TEAM – SOUTH DAKOTA SCHOOL OF MINES

SOUTH DAKOTA SCHOOL OF MINES AND TECHNOLOGY HARDROCKERS

Location: Rapid City, SD

Conference Affiliation: Dakota Athletic Conference

Major sports: football, basketball

Site: http://athletics.sdsmt.edu/

Comment: You know sports teams must be good when they have so many Cafes named after them! (Just be glad I didn’t go with the “Hardrock, Coco and Joe” reference I originally had planned.) What I really want to know is if their marching band does a rendition of Sixteen Ton.

For more cool-named sports teams click here: https://glitternight.com/2010/06/21/the-20-coolest-named-college-sports-teams-you-may-have-never-heard-of-naia-edition/

Balladeer’s Blog is not affiliated with or operated by the NAIA or any member institutions.

Dakota League dwindling in NAIA (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
First Meeting of South Dakota Tea Party Alliance (dakotavoice.com)
South Dakota Tea Party Summit (dakotavoice.com)
Summit League to consider UND for membership (dailycaller.com)

2 Comments

Filed under Cool names and cool logos

Tagged as college basketball, college football, college sports, Hardrock Cafe, NAIA sports, South Dakota School Of Mines And Technology, sports

July 17, 2010 · 12:52 am

THE WINNER OF THE “COOLEST-NAMED SPORTS TEAMS” CONTEST – THE USAO DROVERS!

Well the votes are all tallied and the most votes for coolest team nickname went to the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma Drovers! If I had to coin a quick phrase to capture the allure of the Drover mascot it would be Drovers: The 21st Century Name For Cowboys! As always there’s no need to thank me for these impromptu slogans, just shower me with cash. And you can visit the Drovers athletic site at : http://www.usao.edu/usao-sports/

As the Drovers gallop their way into the Winner’s Circle let’s take a look at the runners up:

In second place were the Ave Maria University Gyrenes and playing on their nickname’s Marine Corps origins I previously came up with a pithy slogan for them, too: Want to compete? Join the Gyrenes!

Their athletics website is: http://www.amuathletics.com/

Third place went to the Bethany College Swedes who in the past few weeks launched a furious “Get out the vote” drive and were only a few votes behind the Gyrenes for second place. Since I don’t have a slogan for the Swedes I’ll go with a cool fact one reader passed along: Under Bethany College football coach Bennie Owen the Swedes defeated the Oklahoma Sooners in 1903 AND 1904! For the Swedes athletics site go here: http://www.bethanyswedes.com/

And in descending order, the placement of the remaining teams from my Top 20 List.

4. Columbia College Fighting Koalas

5. Evergreen State Geoducks

6. Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves

7. Montana Tech Orediggers

8. Fresno Pacific Sunbirds

9. Indiana University Southeast Grenadiers

10. Cal Maritime Keelhaulers

11. Point Loma Nazarene Sea Lions

12. Brewton Parker Barons

13. Southwestern College Mound Builders

14. St. Louis College Of Pharmacy Eutectics

15. Trinity Christian Trolls

16. South Carolina-Beaufort Sand Sharks

17. Saint Ambrose Fighting Bees

18. Jamestown College Jimmies

19. UTB-TSC Scorpions

20. Virginia Intermont Cobras

And even though they weren’t on the Top 20 ballot the Rogers State University Hillcats received 4 write-in votes.

Well, it’s been a fun contest! Thanks once again to everyone who voted. Reaction to the Top 20 list and to Balladeer’s Blog in general has been far beyond anything I expected. The administration, students and alumni of these NAIA schools have been great.

I’ll be launching another Top 20 list in a different category soon and if it gets the same response the first one did I’ll open up that one for your votes, too.

Balladeer’s Blog is not affiliated with or operated by the NAIA or any member institutions.

USAO on US News & World Report’s “Best Valued” College List (oklahomawomen.blogspot.com)
Oklahoma Sooners Season Hinges on O-Line Success (bleacherreport.com)

5 Comments

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July 15, 2010 · 1:29 am

TODAY’S COOL-NAMED SPORTS TEAM – LIFE UNIVERSITY

LIFE UNIVERSITY RUNNING EAGLES

Location: Marietta, GA

Conference Affiliation: Association of Independent Institutions

Major sports: basketball, rugby (technically rugby is club-level, but Life takes rugby to the Nth Degree)

Site: http://www.liferunningeagles.com/

Comment: I guess after rejecting names like “flying turtles” and “swimming kitty cats” as being too odd-sounding common sense prevailed and the good people at Life decided on the nickname Running Eagles for their sports teams.

Balladeer’s Blog is not affiliated with or operated by the NAIA or any member institutions.

For more cool-named sports teams click here: https://glitternight.com/2010/06/21/the-20-coolest-named-college-sports-teams-you-may-have-never-heard-of-naia-edition/

USA Rugby Announces Conference Alignments for New Collegiate Competition (bleacherreport.com)
Christian College in Oregon will add Women’s Lacrosse to NCAA Division III Intercollegiate Sports Offerings (prweb.com)
Rugby: As Women’s World Cup Starts, the Spotlight Shifts (nytimes.com)

TODAY’S COOL-NAMED SPORTS TEAM – ROGERS STATE

ROGERS STATE UNIVERSITY HILLCATS

Location: Claremore, OK

Conference Affiliation: Sooner Athletic Conference

Major sports: basketball, baseball, soccer

Site: http://rsuhillcats.com/index.asp

Comment: I’ll bet everyone affiliated with this university wishes they had back all the moments from their life spent explaining “No, it’s HILL-cats, not hellcats”! Just to really confuse people the Rogers State University marching band should start doing a rendition of the theme song from the bad biker movie Hellcats. (bad movie buffs will get it)

For more cool-named sports teams click here: https://glitternight.com/2010/06/21/the-20-coolest-named-college-sports-teams-you-may-have-never-heard-of-naia-edition/

Balladeer’s Blog is not affiliated with or operated by the NAIA or any member institutions.

NFL Preview-Palooza! Who Are The 10 Most Annoying Humans In Pro Football? (sbnation.com)

TODAY’S COOL-NAMED SPORTS TEAM – DORDT COLLEGE

DORDT COLLEGE DEFENDERS

Location: Sioux Center, IA

Conference Affiliation: Great Plains Athletic Conference

Major sports: football, basketball, baseball, soccer

Site: http://www.dordt.edu/athletics/

Comment: Gee, do you think the X-Men and the Fantastic Four ever get jealous that the Defenders have sports teams named after them? (Marvel Comics geeks will get it)

For more cool-named sports teams click here: https://glitternight.com/2010/06/21/the-20-coolest-named-college-sports-teams-you-may-have-never-heard-of-naia-edition/

Balladeer’s Blog is not affiliated with or operated by the NAIA or any member institutions.

Christian College in Oregon will add Women’s Lacrosse to NCAA Division III Intercollegiate Sports Offerings (prweb.com)
You: The Mountain West Doing What it can for BCS Bid (sportsviews.com)

2 Comments

Filed under Cool names and cool logos

Tagged as baseball, basketball, college sports, Defenders, Dordt College, football, humor, Marvel Comics, NAIA sports, soccer

July 5, 2010 · 3:02 am

TODAY’S COOL-NAMED SPORTS TEAM – MAYVILLE STATE

MAYVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY COMETS

Location: Mayville, ND

Conference Affiliation: Dakota Athletic Conference

Major sports: football, basketball, baseball

Site: http://www.masu.nodak.edu/athletics/index.cfm

Comment: After indulging myself with a High Chaparral joke with LCU earlier this month I’ll refrain from making either a groan-inducing Bill Haley OR Hale-Bopp reference and just ask you which Comets football helmet you think is cooler -the old-school one on the left or their latest one on the right.

As usual you can contact me with your opinion at Thtcom15@aol.com

Football helmets courtesy of The Helmet Project at http://www.nationalchamps.net/Helmet_Project/

Balladeer’s Blog is not affiliated with or operated by the NAIA or any member institutions.

For more cool-named sports teams click here: https://glitternight.com/2010/06/21/the-20-coolest-named-college-sports-teams-you-may-have-never-heard-of-naia-edition/

Dan LeBatard on Jay Mariotti: “The vitriolic reaction to Mariotti’s misery frightened me.” (thebiglead.com)

10 Comments

Filed under Cool names and cool logos, humor

Tagged as baseball, basketball, college sports, comets, football, humor, Mayville State, NAIA sports

July 2, 2010 · 1:01 am

TODAY’S COOL-NAMED SPORTS TEAM – LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY

LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY CHAPARRALS

Location: Lubbock, TX (Well, d’uh!)

Conference Affiliation: Sooner Athletic Conference

Major sports: basketball, baseball, soccer

Site: http://www.lcuchaps.com/

Comment: This school’s teams have got a butt-kicking nickname, a butt-kicking logo and I’ll let you go ahead and insert your own High Chaparral joke here. Bonus points for the best use of Blue Boy‘s wimpiness in your wisecrack. And remember to vote for your favorite cool-named sports team by July 16th here: https://glitternight.com/2010/06/21/the-20-coolest-named-college-sports-teams-you-may-have-never-heard-of-naia-edition/

Balladeer’s Blog is not affiliated with or operated by the NAIA or any member institutions.