University of Kansas
There aren't a lot of imaginary creatures in
power-five sports, but the Kansas Jayhawk
is one of them.
Pioneers in Kansas, known as the Jayhawkers
of '49, are thought to have taken their names
from two birds native to the region, the blue jay
and the hawk. When Kansas governor Charles
Robinson appointed Doc Jennison as the colonel
of a cavalry regiment in 1861, he named the
regiment after these early settlers, calling
themselves the Independent Mounted Kansas
Jayhawkers.The University of Kansas adopted the
mythical bird as its mascot as early as 1886.
There aren't a lot of imaginary creatures in
power-five sports, but the Kansas Jayhawk
is one of them.
Pioneers in Kansas, known as the Jayhawkers
of '49, are thought to have taken their names
from two birds native to the region, the blue jay
and the hawk. When Kansas governor Charles
Robinson appointed Doc Jennison as the colonel
of a cavalry regiment in 1861, he named the
regiment after these early settlers, calling
themselves the Independent Mounted Kansas
Jayhawkers.The University of Kansas adopted the
mythical bird as its mascot as early as 1886.