Re-introducing the Marquette Golden Eagles, Maybe: After suffering from an identity crisis for a couple of months, Marquette is close to finalizing a nickname. Students and recent donors have until June 24 to vote for two finalists – the Golden Eagles or the Hilltoppers. Marquette has used the Golden Eagle moniker since 1994, when the school ditched the Warriors nickname because officials felt it disrespected American Indians. The school had used the Hilltopper nickname from 1917 to 1954 when students successfully pushed to change the name to Warriors.
The nickname controversy started when members of the Board of Trustees offered the school $1 million each to convince the school to return to the Warrior nickname. The school declined but opted to change the name to the Gold, which spurred uproar among students and alumni. Marquette officials decided to allow students and alumni to vote on 10 possibilities, and the Golden Eagles and Hilltoppers were most popular. The failed nickname proposals were the Explorers, Golden Avalanche, Golden Knights, Saints, Spirit, Voyagers and Wolves. [6/07/05]
