re: LSU's Mascot Name

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First of all, it is named after the famous "Fighting Tigers" of Robert E. Lee's army, who fought so bravely at Gettysburg. Secondly, we should have absolutely no reason to be ashamed or fearful of this name. It is our heritage. Rise up and stop denying your heritage!

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There seems to be a small number of fans who accept the notion that the LSU Tigers were named after a Louisiana Civil War unit.

No. The LSU Tigers are NOT named after a Confederate fighting group.

The Bengal Tiger has been the official mascot of Louisiana State University since 1936. LSU chose the Panthera tigris tigris because it was the custom at the time to choose a name based upon a vicious animal. Dr. Charles Coates, who was Dean Emeritus, College of Pure and Applied Science, the Tigers' first coach, and who was affiliated with LSU from 1893-1939, detailed the history of the LSU Tiges in the following letter to the LSU Alumni News in October of 1937:

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It was the custom at that time, for some occult reason, to call football teams by the names of vicious animals; the Yale Bulldogs and the Princeton Tigers, for example. This is still the vogue. It struck me that purple and gold looked Tigerish enough and I suggested that we choose "Louisiana Tigers," all in conference with the boys. The Louisiana Tigers had represented the state in Civil War and had been known for their hard fighting.

This name was applied collectively to the New Orleans Zouaves, the Donaldsonville Cannoniers, and to a number of other Louisiana companies sent to Virginia, who seemed to have the faculty of getting into the hardest part of the fighting and staying there, most of them permanently. One company I knew of went in 200 strong; only 28 returned and many of these were wounded.

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How The Tigers Got Their Name - Dr. Charles Coates

So, although the LSU football uniform also reminded Coates of the Tiger Rifles and their colorful uniforms similar to those worn by French Zouaves, and the name had been used by various Louisiana military units that pre-dated the Civil War, the LSU football team was named after the cat (in accordance with custom at the time), not a military unit.

The tiger head symbol came from the Washington Artillery of New Orleans. A militia unit that traces its history back to the 1830s, the Washington Artillery had a logo that featured a snarling tiger's head that was the model for the original image that adorned LSU's football helmet.