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The history of athletics at Hofstra is as old as the University itself,
and is steeped in the Dutch heritage that helps to make Hofstra
such a unique school.
Hofstra has always had strong roots in tradition. Ties to Dutch heritage
and the Netherlands began with William S. Hofstra, after whom the
school is named and on whose property the University was started.
William Hofstra died in 1932 and when his wife, Kate, died 16 months
later, her will provided that their house, 15-acre estate, and bulk of her
inheritance were to be used for a “public, charitable, benevolent, or
scientific purpose” as a memorial to her husband.
The idea for a college came from Truesdel Peck Calkins, former
Hempstead superintendent of schools, who was then with New York
University. He suggested that NYU might offer extension courses on the
Hofstra property. Hofstra opened in September 1935, as a two-year
extension branch of NYU; its official name was “Nassau College –
Hofstra Memorial of New York University at Hempstead, Long Island.”
HOFSTRA HERITAGE
When the doors opened, the sole building on campus was Hofstra’s
mansion, which he had affectionately named the Netherlands after his
homeland, and all classes were held there. The mansion, which houses
administrative offices, is now the center of Hofstra’s 240-acre campus,
and has been renamed Hofstra Hall.
Also adopted in this early stage of Hofstra’s history was the school alma
mater, “The Netherlands.” The lyrics were written by a faculty member to
the music of the Dutch national anthem by the 16th-century Dutch
composer Valerius.
THE HOFSTRA FLAG
The Hofstra storm flag is modeled after an actual Dutch geus, a
privateer’s flag. In 1991 a representative of Holland’s Queen Beatrix
presented the banner to then Hofstra President (now President
Emeritus) James M. Shuart. The history of the flag dates back to 1572,
when a group of Dutch loyalists called Watergeuzen used the flag’s mast
to ram the gates of a Dutch city in their opposition to Spanish rule.
While the Netherlands Royal Navy flies the original red, white and blue
geus, the Hofstra version has been redesigned in the school colors of
gold, white and blue.
The gold, white and blue Hofstra colors themselves spring from Dutch
roots. The first official Hofstra flag appeared on April 19, 1940, when Dr.
Alexander Loudon, an envoy for Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands,
presented his country’s flag to Hofstra in a special ceremony. However,
the flag he presented was not the red, white and blue flag of the
Netherlands, but the orange, white and blue banner of William of Nassau
with a Hofstra emblem placed on the flag. The University has used the
design ever since, although President Shuart, after researching the
colors, replaced the orange hue with gold, making the flag truer to the
original House of Nassau. The flag is one of Hofstra’s most recognizable
symbols, utilized in publications, pins and souvenirs.
THE HOFSTRA SEAL
The Hofstra seal, another easily recognizable emblem, was designed
from the royal Dutch emblem by art instructor
Constant Van de Wall. The seal is
modeled on the coat of arms of the
House of Orange-Nassau. The
round seal includes the coat of
arms, flanked by lions on
either side. A lion also stands
in the center of the coat of
arms, holding a sword in its
right claw and a bundle of
seven arrows, which
represent the seven provinces
of Holland, in its left. The seal
also carries the motto of the
House of Orange-Nassau in Old
French: “Je maintiendray” (I stand
HOFSTRA PRIDE WRESTLING
WRESTLING
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