When did we earn our Tiger stripes? Exploring USN branding
Ever wonder how USN got its colors and branding? Celeste Green ’27 and Abigail Manoukian ’27 visited the school Archive to find out. This article originally appeared in The Peabody Press, the High School student-run newspaper.
By Celeste Green ’27 and Abigail Manoukian ’27
Every University School of Nashville student recognizes Columbia blue, garnet, and Tigers as the colors and mascot symbols of our school, but was it always this way? And where did this branding come from?
These questions are surprisingly difficult to answer due to the fact that, unlike some of our peer schools, USN does not have a formal uniform besides sports jerseys. Thankfully, USN vintage sports uniforms and yearbooks can reveal some information.
In 1888, long before USN even existed, there was a school called the Winthrop Model School. This school was run by George Peabody College, which may not have had athletic jerseys, merchandise, or color photos to leave for posterity.
However, it did have a yearbook. USN’s official archivist, Kat Trammell ‘99, traced our current school colors from a 1908 yearbook titled: “The Garnet & Blue.” This yearbook is the first documented mention of USN’s iconic colors in history, meaning they have been part of our history for 116 years.
Librarians invite the USN community to celebrate Read Across USN Week from Friday, January 9 through Friday, January 16 and read 300K pages. Click here to volunteer during Community Night in the Hassenfeld Library, when we celebrate this week of literacy 3:30 to 5 p.m. Thursday, January 15.
The Quiz Bowl team traveled to Bowling Green, Kentucky, to face several top teams from across the country at this year's South Warren Tournament. USN's second-place finish earned the team an invitation to the National Academic Quiz Tournaments' National Championships in May.
In an inspiring new initiative, USN's health care career spotlight, organized by Ruchika Ramachandran ’27 and Yvonne Wang ’27, brought a wealth of alumni back to the school for an evening of shared expertise and personal stories. This first-of-its-kind event was a great example of the power of connection, mentorship, and community evident throughout the USN community.
USN Mission: University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.