Why is Cy our mascot?

[CyDude16]

Because Bo Williams says so.

 

[52ynnel]

Man, you know what would be sweet? If we had a mascot that was a "cardinal" bird, and it was in the middle of a cyclone! It would look awesome and it would be unique and recognizable! No one woudl think we were Idaho State or Illinois State or Indiana State. Yup, that would be sweet.

Yes that wouldn't look to busy on a football helemt at all. Sounds really cool,..like an old USFL logo.

That bird in a blender logo blows.

 

[dustinal]

I never said that logo was gone, just that it was sweeter than Idaho State...

Sorry, I probably should have just quoted the second post and not yours too.

 

[MNCyGuy]

I firmly believe that were known as the Cardinals, especially considering the school color. Whether we were officially the Cardinals or just known as the cardinals is unknown, but I can't imagine a team going two years without a name.

I don't think that's true though. A little known fact is that the original school colors were not cardinal and gold, they were black, silver, and gold. They were later switched because cardinal was easier to dye into school clothing. Now if this is the case, it makes no sense for the original mascot to have been the Cardinals.

 

[everyyard]

We were the Cardinals before we took the name the Cyclones

that is not true. it is commonly stated but not based in reality. We didn't have a nickname before we were the cyclones. Many teams didn't have nicknames back then, just as many teams didn't have mascots until the middle of the last century. We were more likely the "aggies" than we were ever the cardinals. I challenge ANYONE to find EVIDENCE that we were the cardinals that isn't anecdote or wikipedia.

 

[everyyard]

Sigh...

Why do some people continue to insist that the Cy logo is gone...

http://images.art.com/images/PRODUCTS/large/10001000/10001008.jpg

 

[jaretac]

that is not true. it is commonly stated but not based in reality. We didn't have a nickname before we were the cyclones. Many teams didn't have nicknames back then, just as many teams didn't have mascots until the middle of the last century. We were more likely the "aggies" than we were ever the cardinals. I challenge ANYONE to find EVIDENCE that we were the cardinals that isn't anecdote or wikipedia.

From Cyclones.com (click here for article):

Weather in the state of Iowa during the summer and early fall of 1895 included an unusually large number of what were then referred to as cyclones. On Sept. 29 of that season, an underdog Iowa State football squad played at Northwestern. After building a commanding 30-0 halftime lead, the Cardinals (as ISU’s teams were then named), went on to post a shocking 36-0 rout of the Wildcats. The Chicago Tribune’s headline read “Struck by a Cyclone.â€￾ The account in the Tribune reported that Northwestern might as well have tried to play football with an Iowa cyclone as with the team it met yesterday. At the end of 50 minutes, the big husky farmers from Iowa’s Agricultural College had rolled up 36 points.â€￾ Since that famous gridiron victory, Iowa State’s athletics teams have been known as the Cyclones.

I hope that this is enough for you.

Also, Cy did not officially come into being untill 1954 when they put together a contest to come up with a mascot.
Cy Article

 

[Bader]

From Cyclones.com (click here for article):



Also, Cy did not officially come into being until 1954 when they put together a contest to come up with a mascot.
Cy Article

 

[iowast8fan]

Anybody get sick of this question? I do. Do some research and learn about your school. I also get annoyed when sports announcers don't know, and call Cy a Cyhawk, then proceed to not know why we have a bird as our mascot. You are sports announcers broadcasting a cyclone game and don't know? What kind of announcer are you? Do some research.

Sorry, still bitter from the ISU game where the tv announcer called our mascot a Cyhawk.

 

[aeroclone]

The story about the Northwestern game on cyclones.com is almost exactly the same as the history of our mascot and nickname in the ESPN College Football Encyclopedia. That makes me think there is something to it.
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[MNCyGuy]

From Cyclones.com (click here for article):



I hope that this is enough for you.

Also, Cy did not officially come into being untill 1954 when they put together a contest to come up with a mascot.
Cy Article

hmm, learn something new every day.

 

[GeronimusClone]

that is not true. it is commonly stated but not based in reality. We didn't have a nickname before we were the cyclones. Many teams didn't have nicknames back then, just as many teams didn't have mascots until the middle of the last century. We were more likely the "aggies" than we were ever the cardinals. I challenge ANYONE to find EVIDENCE that we were the cardinals that isn't anecdote or wikipedia.

This is the info i always heard. Not everyone had mascots, and we did change our colors to red for dying purposes.

 

[GeronimusClone]

Anybody get sick of this question? I do. Do some research and learn about your school. I also get annoyed when sports announcers don't know, and call Cy a Cyhawk, then proceed to not know why we have a bird as our mascot. You are sports announcers broadcasting a cyclone game and don't know? What kind of announcer are you? Do some research.

Sorry, still bitter from the ISU game where the tv announcer called our mascot a Cyhawk.

Be easy if there wasn't conflicting information.

 

[clonerules]

Per NCAA 09...The Cyclones decided to fall back on the cardinal mascot in 1954 when it was realized that nobody could figure out how to "stuff" a Cyclone...

 

[jaretac]

An industrious group of Iowa State University students, which included pep council president Chuck Duncan, brainstormed in 1954 about ways to build school spirit. The Pep Council got the go-ahead from ISU alumni director “Redâ€￾ Barron, sports information director Harry Burrell and Cyclone Club director Ray Donels to pursue the creation of a mascot. ​

Since a cyclone was difficult to depict in costume, a cardinal was selected from the cardinal and gold of the official school colors. A cardinal-like bird was introduced at the 1954 homecoming pep rally. A contest was conducted to select a name for the mascot, and the winning entry of Cy was submitted by 17 people. The first to submit the name, Mrs. Ed Ohlsen, won a cardinal and gold stadium blanket.​

From Cyclones.com​

 

[JD720]

Is the logo on the upper left connected to ISU in any way or was it just designed for the website? I'm sure it is too late now and that the "I-State" logo is here for at least while, but I think the twister logo on this site would look pretty sweet on the helmets, center court, etc.

 

[isucyfan]

Is the logo on the upper left connected to ISU in any way or was it just designed for the website? I'm sure it is too late now and that the "I-State" logo is here for at least while, but I think the twister logo on this site would look pretty sweet on the helmets, center court, etc.

It's just for this site. If you look closely, the upper part is a "C" and the lower part an "F"...for Cyclone Fanatic.

 

[cstrunk]

It's just for this site. If you look closely, the upper part is a "C" and the lower part an "F"...for Cyclone Fanatic.

LOL - Thanks for pointing that out. I have never noticed that before.

 

[Flag Guy]

Still looking for the first reference to a unified name for our athletics in the ISU timeline.... but I did come across this interesting tibit

In 1892...

The Iowa Intercollegiate Baseball League is formed, with representatives from Drake, Grinnell (then known as Iowa College), Iowa State, and the University of Iowa. Iowa State won the first game of the season over the University of Iowa - the trophy prize selected was a silver bat. This bat is now part of the Artifact Collection in the Special Collections Department at Iowa State.

:yes:

Iowa State University Time Line, 1875-1899

 

[Flag Guy]

Hmmm...

And here we are in 1895...

The football team earns the name "Cyclones" following a victory over Northwestern University. An article in the Chicago Tribune newspaper, headlined "Struck by a Cyclone: It Comes from Iowa and Devastates Evanston Town," reads: "Northwestern might as well have tried to play football with an Iowa cyclone as with the Iowa team it met yesterday. At the end of 50 minutes' play, the big husky farmers from Iowa's Agricultural College had rolled up 36 points, while the 15 yard line was the nearest Northwestern got to Iowa's goal."

I've been telling the Cyclones.com story for years, but I'm having trouble backing it up with the ISU time line... though I may have missed something and it's a summary type deal.

Iowa State University Time Line, 1875-1899

In 1899,

October 3, 1899: "The matter of colors has proven a stumbling block and this is not to be wondered at. As we have stated before, the silver, gold, and black are approaching their last days. They are pretty, but absolutely impossible to use in any way that would uniform our athletes...so the colors adopted for a college athletic team determine what shall be the colors of the college. It follows then, that we should be very careful in this matter...We should be conservative and careful in this matter. What the Council does now will probably hold for all time and they must not blunder this time."
October 10, 1899: "At Thursday's Council meeting the special committee appointed to investigate and report on suitable colors for the sweaters, reported in favor of a cardinal sweater with a gold letter...This is a commendable improvement and makes a distinctive and striking set of colors. From the prominence of cardinal and gold at the Nebraska game, it is evident that common consent will very soon adopt these as the college colors."