University of Memphis

The University was founded under the auspices of the General Education Bill, enacted by the Tennessee General Assembly in 1909.  Current enrollment is 21,000 students.

 

The University of Memphis' official school colors of blue and gray were selected by students in the first classes in the early 1900s. Tradition holds that the colors, those of the opposing armies during the American Civil War, were chosen in commemoration of the reuniting of the country after that divisive conflict. The student body thought that by picking the colors of the North and the South, the school would show a togetherness and unity among all students.

 

When the University of Memphis first fielded a football team in the fall of 1912, no one had selected a nickname for the squad. Early references to the football team tabbed them only as the Blue and Gray Warriors.

After the final game of the 1914 season, there was a student parade. During this event, several University students shouted, "We fight like Tigers!" The nickname was born. As time passed, the nickname "Tigers" was increasingly used, particularly in campus publications, but did not catch on with the newspapers downtown. They continued to use "the Blue and Gray" when referring to the University.

Under Coach Lester Barnard in 1922, Memphis's football team gave a ring of truth to that old student yell about Tigers. The team adopted a motto - "Every Man a Tiger" - and went on to score 174 points while allowing its opponents just 29 points. The Tiger nickname continued on with students and alumni, eventually being adopted as the official nickname for the University of Memphis in 1939.

For over 30 years, the sideline mascot for The University of Memphis has been the Bengal Tiger. TOM II, the current Tiger mascot, attends all Tiger Football home games, and he can also be found at many other University events throughout the year as a powerful and majestic symbol of Tigers Athletics. TOM II travels in style in a custom-designed, climate-controlled trailer, always with police escort. TOM II has spent his life housed and cared for in private facilities provided and maintained by the Highland Hundred Tiger Guard, an alumni booster organization. With a price tag of over $300,000, raised entirely by the Tiger Guard, the habitat was widely regarded as the finest private facility in the nation, surpassing that of many zoos. In this comfortable home, TOM II matured into a magnificent animal weighing more than 500 pounds. As one of only two Universities in America with a live Tiger mascot, The University of Memphis is unique in its Tiger Tradition.

After being diagnosed with mouth cancer, TOM II was euthanized on October 15, 2008, at the age of 17. The team of veterinarians who oversaw TOM II decided this was necessary to ensure he did not suffer due to his illness.