HERO Sports recently published the definitive ranking of every college football nickname, from all four divisions, based on who would win in a fight. You should go read it if you haven't already. It's really quite something.
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READ: College Football Nickname Rankings
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Now that you're back, another question might be climbing its way into that head of yours: which nicknames are the most popular? Glad you asked. Check this out:
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LISTEN: Ben Fox, Jason Churchill, and Jim Oxley discuss the nickname rankings in podcast form:
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| Rank | Nickname | # of Schools |
| 1 | Tigers | 25 |
| 2 | Bulldogs | 22 |
| 3 | Panthers | 20 |
| 4 | Eagles | 16 |
| 5 | Wildcats | 15 |
| 6 | Bears | 13 |
| 6 | Pioneers | 13 |
| 8 | Yellow Jackets | 12 |
| 9 | Cardinals | 11 |
| 10 | Falcons | 10 |
| 10 | Cougars | 10 |
| 10 | Lions | 10 |
| 13 | Rams | 8 |
| 13 | Spartans | 8 |
| 13 | Hawks | 8 |
| 16 | Huskies | 7 |
| 16 | Mustangs | 7 |
| 16 | Bison | 7 |
| 16 | Vikings | 7 |
| 16 | Warriors | 7 |
| 21 | Bearcats | 6 |
| 21 | Aggies | 6 |
| 21 | Bobcats | 6 |
| 21 | Hornets | 6 |
| 21 | Crusaders | 6 |
| 26 | Golden Bears | 5 |
| 26 | Knights | 5 |
| 26 | Owls | 5 |
| 26 | Cowboys | 5 |
| 26 | Beavers | 5 |
| 26 | Golden Eagles | 5 |
| 26 | Colonels | 5 |
| 26 | Wolves | 5 |
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Some Thoughts:
-Big cats are very popular. Five of the top 12 are big cats, if you count a wildcat as a big cat. They aren't that big, but they undeniably are cats.
-For being not that fierce of a dog, bulldogs are super popular. It is interesting that there are no labradors in college football considering how popular they are in real life.
-The second most popular human is a Spartan. It seems like the American educational system predicted the phenomenon that was 300. But did they predict the rest of Zach Snyder's career? Jury's still out.
-Of the 25 Tigers, three are in the SEC (Auburn, Missouri, and LSU).
-Despite the fact that there are no native tigers there, the South (and Texas) account for 15 of the 25 Tiger nicknames.
-We as humans like discovery (Pioneers is tied for sixth), but don't want to go it alone (there are TWENTY-FIVE different Tigers).
