Since the bald eagle is a national symbol of the United States, several colleges and high school sports teams take the eagle as their mascot. Schools all across the country from Boston College to Tennessee Tech use the eagle or some variation as the mascot for their football, basketball, soccer and other teams.
Boston College
The eagle serves as a mascot for all the athletic teams of Boston College. BC has 13 men's teams and 15 women's teams. The men's teams include baseball, football, ice hockey and sailing. The women's teams include softball, lacrosse, sailing and volleyball.
Georgia Southern University
GSU has also taken the eagle as its mascot. The school was founded in 1906, and the first mascots were the Aggies, the Blue Tide and later the Professors. Finally, in 1960 the student body voted for the current mascot, the Eagles. Currently GSU fields teams for 16 sports, including football, men and women's basketball, softball and golf.
Oral Roberts University
Athletic teams form Oral Roberts University are called the Golden Eagles. The men's basketball team has been particularly successful. The team plays in the Summit League and has earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament five times, most recently in 2008.
Tennessee Tech University
Tennessee Tech University sports teams also bear the name of the Golden Eagles. The origin TTU's mascot is unusual. In 1952, some TTU students were looking for a physical representation of their mascot. A nearby resort had burned down, and the students took a large tin eagle statue from the premises. They brought the eagle back to campus, painted it gold and displayed their creation during the school's next basketball game. The new Golden Eagle was a hit, and the name has stayed with the school for more than 60 years.
Issaquah High School
Issaquah High School is located in the northwest corner of Washington state and until 2003 its nickname was the Indians. The decision to change the mascot was met with controversy at first; about 150 students walked out of school in protest on the day of the ruling. IHS fields 18 Eagles teams. In 2007 Sports Illustrated named the athletic program at Issaquah High the best in the state.
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Liz Frazier has been producing Web content, instructional articles and trivia for websites such as TopTenz.net and RealDealTechnologies.com since 2008. Her writing interests lie primarily in the areas of politics (specifically public administration and elections), the military, education and forced migration. Frazier has a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from California State University, Northridge.