U Traditions: Hurricanes 101 UMIAMI
THE NAME:THE HURRICANES It began in controversy. Some reports say players on the 1927 football team held a team meeting to select Hurricanes, hoping they would sweep away opponents just as the devastating storm did on Sept. 16, 1926. Another version holds that Jack Bell, a columnist for the old Miami News, asked end Porter Norris of the 1926 team what the team should be. Told that local dignitaries and University officials wanted to name the team for local flora or fauna, Norris said the players wouldn't stand for it and suggested "Hurricanes" since the opening game had been postponed by such a storm. From time to time, opposition has arisen to the name that would "reinforce Miami's negative reputation as a weather-beaten community living constantly under the threat of destruction." But as one UM official rationalized in the 1960s, "Does anyone think Chicago is overrun by bears just because the town has a football team by that name?"
THE COLORS: ORANGE, GREEN & WHITE UM's colors were selected in 1926 and are representative of the Florida orange tree — with orange symbolizing the fruit of the tree, green the leaves and white the blossoms.
THE U In 1973, UM's Athletic Federation, the fundraising arm of the athletic department at the time, commissioned a local public relations expert to develop a distinctive logo. The University had gone several years with a variety of helmet and uniform changes, and the Federation noted that a number of major colleges have the initials UM. Miami designer Bill Bodenhamer suggested the "U" idea, which lent itself to distinctive logos for each sport as well as slogans like "U gotta believe" and "U is great". In recent years, the well-known U logo — and such outspoken proponents as former Miami standout and NFL Hall of Famer Michael Irvin, has inspired fans to begin referring to the University of Miami as "the U" and showing their support by making a U symbol with their hands.
THE MASCOT: SEBASTIAN THE IBIS Folklore maintains that the ibis, a symbol of knowledge found in the Everglades and Egypt, is the last sign of wildlife to take shelter before a hurricane and the first to reappear after the storm. The local marsh bird was considered UM's first unofficial mascot when the school yearbook adopted the name "Ibis" in 1926. Its popularity grew among the students during the 1950s, and through the years, the Ibis has become one of the most recognizable college mascots in the United States.
IRON ARROW Members of the prestigious Iron Arrow Honor Society can be seen around campus wearing their brightly colored Seminole Indian jackets. Admission to the elite Tribe, a mystery to the uninitiated, is the highest honor attained at the University of Miami. Founded by Bowman Foster Ashe in 1926 only a month after the University opened, the society honors individuals who best exemplify the five qualities of Iron Arrow: love of alma mater, character, leadership, scholarship and humility.
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2010-11 | UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI MEN’S BASKETBALL | HURRICANESPORTS.COM