HISTORY MINUTE

The 2020 football season may be in doubt because of the pandemic, but college sports are still beloved by Arkansans. But Arkansas did not always cheer for the same teams. Imagine a time when Arkansas called the Cardinals and Arkansas State University cheered on the Gorillas. This is part of the colorful story of college mascots in Arkansas.

Although the University of Arkansas was organized in 1871, it was several years before competitive sports began. The earliest records indicate that students organized the fi rst football team in 1894, with the official colors as white and cardinal red. The Cardinal nickname spread, including as the title of the university’s first yearbook that year.

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