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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE --July 9, 2001
Contact: John Johnson or Andy Frushour-- 517.332.5046

Member School Nicknames & Colors On MHSAA Web Site

EAST LANSING, Mich. - July 9 - Did you know that the most popular team nickname for high schools in Michigan is Eagles? Or that there are 148 nicknames that are unique only to their school in this state? How about the most popular color combination in high school sports?

A compilation of the schools colors and nicknames of Michigan High School Athletic Association member senior high schools has been posted to the Services page of the MHSAA Web Site - mhsaa.com.

Eagles is a clear-cut winner in the nickname category, with 45 of 743 schools sporting that moniker. In second place with 28 is Panthers. Some of the more unique nicknames in Michigan are: Abes (Warren Lincoln), Battling Bathers (Mt. Clemens), Copper Kings (Calumet), Corsairs (Waterford Mott), Doughboys (Detroit Pershing), Flivvers (Kingsford), Flying G's (Gladwin), Gryphons (Ann Arbor Greenhills), Nimrods (Watersmeet), and Wykons (Stambaugh West Iron County).

In the color category, Blue and Gold is listed by 98 schools for the lead in that category, and Red and White is second with 79.

Here are the 10 most popular nicknames and school color combinations among MHSAA member schools:

Nicknames
Eagles -- 45
Panthers -- 28
Vikings -- 26
Bulldogs -- 25
Wildcats -- 23
Trojans -- 21
Cardinals -- 18
Tigers -- 16
Warriors -- 16
Falcons -- 14

School Colors
Blue & Gold -- 98
Red & White -- 79
Blue & White -- 58
Orange & Black -- 55
Green & White -- 41
Maroon & White -- 31
Purple & Gold -- 25
Red & Black -- 24
Royal Blue & White -- 24
Black & Gold -- 20
Green & Gold -- 20

The lists are available on the MHSAA Web Site as Portable Document Files (PDF), and require Acrobat Reader to access. The available files are:

Alphabetical list of schools, nicknames and colors
Alphabetical list of schools by nicknames
Alphabetical list of schools by colors
Nicknames ranked by school usage
Colors ranked by school usage

The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by over 1,300 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract approximately 1.6 million spectators each year.

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