University of Mary Washington Then & Now

Until the 1970s, Mary Washington had no mascot, “so when the choice of a mascot was put before the student body in 1978, Blue Tide was the winner” ¹ because the swim team had used the phrase for several years. However, “in 1981, the president of the Student Association, Leath Burdeshaw, called for a change, noting that ‘many feel that the College still needs a more concrete mascot–an animal or character that can literally be at the games and put on posters and banners to help spice things up.'” ²  During the 1985-86 academic year, the student body and faculty were presented the options for the MWC mascot: the Devil-Goats, the Eagles, the Militia, the Bayonets, and the Cannons.  “The results of the poll indicated preferences for the mascot name of Eagles.” ³

Today, the University is still represented by the Eagles; however, today the UMW Eagle has a name: Sammy D. Eagle.

UMW students with eagle mascot, September 24,1988 Barry Fitzgerald, "Eagles mascot and students at baseball field dedication," September 24, 1988, The Centennial Image Collection, UMW Digital Archives, University of Mary Washington.

UMW students with Sammy D. Eagle, 2013 Katie Koth, September 22, 2013, Mobile Uploads, Personal Collection of Katie Koth, University of Mary Washington.