Time for NCAA to address female-specific nicknames
Amazingly, this is still a thing as we begin the third decade of the 21st century.
A handful of colleges, most notably the second-ranked women’s basketball team in the country, refuse to let go of antiquated nicknames that adorn their female programs. It usually involves the word “Lady” stuck in front of the school’s main nickname, as is the case with the No. 2 Baylor Lady Bears, the reigning national champions.
Some schools are even more out of touch. At Mississippi Valley State, the men’s teams are known as the Delta Devils. The women’s squads are saddled with the Devilettes, which sounds more like the backup singers for a 1950s rock and roll band than a group of intercollegiate athletes in today’s world.
Or how about Central Arkansas, which is perhaps best known as Scottie Pippen’s alma mater? Their male nickname is the Bears, which would work just fine for either sex, but the women’s teams are known as the Sugar Bears.
Now, maybe the school just wanted to honor the small, exotic marsupial that got its name from having a sweet tooth. There’s a much better chance, however, that some administrator — we’re guessing a man — thought it was a cute way to imply that female athletes are much more dainty than their male counterparts.
Well, it’s time for this sexist practice to take its rightful place in the waste bin of history, though we’ll acknowledge there might be a few exceptions that require more vigorous debate. The NCAA could — and should — speed the process along, just as it did in largely ridding the college landscape of monikers that were offensive to many Native Americans.
This issue has struck a nerve with me since I first reported on it some three decades ago, spurred on by the actions of Becky Hopf. As a member of
“The only thing I have attached to that name is pride,” DeLozier said. “Pride in the program. Pride in the name. Pride in the history. I don’t want to lose that.”
There’s a similar sentiment at Georgia, where the women’s program, known as the Lady Bulldogs has been much more successful over the years than their male counterparts, the Bulldogs.
“Georgia Lady Bulldog basketball is a distinct national brand that began with coach Andy Landers, Teresa Edwards, Katrina McClain, Janet Harris and all those great teams that built this into that national brand,” athletic director Greg McGarity said. “When people hear the term Lady Bulldogs, they automatically recall the great history and pride of this program.”
If the NCAA ever does grow a backbone on this issue, it might need to insert a waiver that allows schools such as Baylor, Louisiana Tech and Tennessee to demonstrate how their nicknames have actually helped to grow women’s sports and are worthy of a historical pass.
There is another perplexing question: What about those programs that have male-specific nicknames?
For instance, Oklahoma State is among several schools known as Cowboys on the men’s side but Cowgirls on the women’s side. Massachusetts goes with the Revolutionary War moniker Minutemen for its male teams, while the female squads are — you guessed it — the Minutewomen.
As with most issues, there must be some wiggle room.
But the vast majority of these nicknames are archaic holdovers from an era when women’s sports would accept any slight to get noticed.
Those days, thankfully, are over.