Minnesota College Nicknames Trivia Quiz

Answer: Tommies

St Thomas University was founded in 1885 in the capital of Minnesota, Saint Paul, and is named after Thomas Aquinas. Tommies was a moniker given to the school's sports teams from its early days, and its mascot is Tommy the Tiger. St Thomas is a member of the NCAA Division I Summit League for most sports, with their gridiron squad competing in the Pioneer Football League.

The Tommies won a number of national crowns at Division III level during the 1980s, with their cross country squad being particularly successful.

Answer: Golden Gophers

Established in 1851, the University of Minnesota is the flagship campus of the UM system, with "Twin Cities" sometimes being appended to its name to distinguish from the other schools in the system. The school's nickname is shared with that of the state itself, with the Golden bit added to refer to their gold and maroon uniforms.

The Gophers were a founding member of the Big Ten Conference in 1896 and have won numerous national titles in a number of sports. Their gridiron squads won seven crowns between 1904 and 1960, whilst both their men's and women's ice hockey teams have won multiple national titles.

Answer: Mustangs

Southwest Minnesota State University was established in 1964 in Marshall, Lyon County. In 1968, students chose Golden Mustangs as the school's nickname, with the Golden part eventually being dropped. SMSU is a member of the NCAA Division II Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).

Answer: Dragons

Minnesota State University Moorhead was founded in Moorhead, Clay County, in 1887. Th school was known as Moorhead State University until becoming part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system in 1995. The Dragons nickname was adopted in 1930 following a campus fire. MSMU are members of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).

Answer: Johnnies

Saint John's University was established in 1857 in Collegeville in Stearns County. The school is closely related to the College of St Benedict, a women's college located in nearby St Josephs. St John's is nicknamed the Johnnies and St Benedict has the moniker the Bennies.

The Johnnies are members of the NCAA Divison III Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) and are best known for their gridiron squad - former head coach John Gagliardi set an NCAA record across all divisions with 489 wins between 1953 and 2012.

Answer: Pipers

Hamline University was established in Saint Paul in 1854, making it the oldest college in Minnesota. Their unique Pipers moniker refers to the Pied Piper of Hamelin. Hamline are members of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). In 1895, they hosted the first intercollegiate basketball game in the USA, when they lost to the Minnesota State School of Agriculture.

Answer: Scots

Macalester College was established in Saint Paul in 1874. The Scots nickname alludes to the school's founding by Scottish Presbyterians. Macalester is a member of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). Their gridiron squad had the misfortune to set an NCAA Division III record of 50 straight losses between 1974 and 1980, a streak which was eventually "beaten" by Earlham College in 2018.

Answer: Bulldogs

The University of Minnesota Duluth was founded in 1902 in St Louis County. Bulldogs is one of the most common nicknames in US college sports and was adopted in 1933 to replace Peds (short for Pedagouges). UMD is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference for most sports, with their ice hockey squads competing in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (men) and the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (women). Both men's and women's ice hockey teams have won multiple national crowns.

Answer: Mavericks

Minnesota State University, Mankato (MSU), was founded in 1868 in Blue Earth County. The school had a number of nicknames through the years, including Peds and Indians, before settling on the alliterative Mavericks in 1977. MSU is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference for most sports, and has won numerous national titles at NCAA Division II level, including both men's and women's basketball.

Answer: Knights

Carleton College was established in Northfield, Rice County, in 1866. Their Knights moniker was adopted in 1950 to allude to a homecoming knight, a student dressed in armour who led the homecoming parade in those days. Carleton are members of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

In 2023, the school won its first NCAA Division III national title, courtesy of the women's cross country team.