Contact: Joe Vanden Acker, Director of Athletic Media Relations - Lawrence University, joseph.m.vandenacker@lawrence.edu

APPLETON, Wisconsin — From the inception of intercollegiate athletics at Lawrence University in the 1890s to the late 1920s, teams at the school were called the Blues. That changed in the 1920s with the help of the student newspaper, The Lawrentian.
 
In January 1926, the sports staff of The Lawrentian held a contest to pick a new mascot or team name, and the winner got to go to the Lawrence-Marquette basketball game in Milwaukee. The winner was Steven Cincowsky '29, and the vote was Vikings 252, Blue Jays 56, Trojans 46. The Viking name did not take a firm hold until 1929, when the Ariel yearbook took on a Viking theme.
 
Prior to the advent of the Vikings, it was common for small college teams to be known by the colors they wore. In Lawrence’s case, the dark blue uniforms were favored by Hall of Fame football coach Mark Catlin, who led the team for 13 seasons in two stints between 1909 and 1927. Catlin insisted on skin-tight dark blue jerseys to make his men look smaller, a deliberate part of his psychological approach to the game.
 
Lawrence has had multiple logos over the year. Even with the advent of the Vikings nickname in the late 1920s, a block “L” was used and the regular use of the “Viking head” logo didn’t start until the late 1950s. Variations of the Viking head have been used ever since. Lawrence also has used an interlocking “LU” logo, with numerous variations, for many decades. Lawrence currently uses an interlocking LU on its football helmets, but the main helmet decal has been the Viking horn, which was used for decades from the late 1960s until just a few years ago.