Did You Know That Syracuse University’s Colors Used To Be MUCH Different?
The Syracuse Orange men's basketball team has been on a run as they've won their last four games. They hope to make it five in a row against Virginia Tech on Saturday night. It's nice to see them turning things around as we get close to March Madness.
Unfortunately, they'll have to continue without their emerging star Jesse Edwards. He fractured his wrist on Tuesday and will have season-ending surgery on Friday, February 11th.
This is the time of year that most of us really pay attention to college basketball especially the Syracuse Orange in Upstate New York. But did you know that Syracuse wasn't always orange?
When Did Syracuse Go Orange
Syracuse University was incorporated in 1870 and their colors were pea green and rose pink, then changing to pink and blue. In 1890, everything changed and they became the first university to adopt only one official color. Why the change?
It was after a Syracuse victory over Hamilton College, and the students wanted colors as bold as they were. They almost went with orange and blue, but orange alone wasn't claimed by any other school.
It was unanimously adopted by the student committee, faculty, the Alumni Association, and the Trustees. They took it for themselves and the rest as they say is history. After the change, the Syracuse football team was called "the Orioles" before eventually becoming the Orange.
Can you imagine we could be saying "Here come the Orioles of Syracuse?" It doesn't work for me either. Long Live The Orange!