“Go Warriors” is a common phrase heard around Winona State University, especially during a football game at Maxwell Field or a basketball game in McCown Gymnasium.
Whether it’s a t-shirt, a poster or a crowd chanting at an athletic event, the school’s mascot, the “Warrior,” is an ever-present term at Winona State.
This has not always been the case.
The “Warrior” has only been Winona State’s official mascot for a little over half of the school’s existence.
Winona State was founded in 1858, but it wasn’t until 1936 that the term “Warrior” had any official connection to the university.
Before 1936, Winona State fans used self-made names when referring to their team.
Some of the unofficial nicknames included “Peds,” “Teachers,” “Purple” and “Normals.”
The term “Peds” was an abbreviation of pedagogues, which means teachers.
Finally, in 1932, a Winonan reporter covering a football game with the Moorhead Dragons decided Winona State needed a formal nickname. The reporter declared that he would start using “Warriors.”
At that point, the nickname was still not official. That didn’t happen until four years later.
According to the Oct. 17, 1936 issue of the Winonan, the matter of deciding upon an official nickname was brought before a student association on Oct. 7, 1936.
“Warrior” was one of six possible nicknames. The other choices were the “Windians,” the “Eagles,” the “Pedowins,” the “Werewolves” and the “Wizards.”
The association conducted a first round of voting and the three lowest names were dropped. The Werewolves, Eagles and Warriors were the three finalists. Eventually, the name “Warriors” won over “Werewolves” by a small majority.
The Winona Republican-Herald newspaper didn’t begin calling the football and basketball teams the Warriors until the early 1940’s. Up until that point, the Republican-Herald primarily referred to Winona State athletic teams as the “Teachers,” the “Teds” and the “Purple.”
It is hard to determine exactly why those voters decided to give Winona State the Warrior mascot—the Winonan does not specify—but it is undeniable that it was an important decision in the university’s history.
Reach Scott at SDSwanso3092@winona.edu.