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steadfast). In 1988 one of the two lions on the seal was officially
replaced with a lioness. The seal is now the focal point of the “Hofstra
Pride” logo.
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THE HOFSTRA NICKNAMES
The Hofstra nickname has also evolved over the years. For decades,
Hofstra athletic teams have used the nicknames Flying Dutchmen,
Dutchmen, or Dutch. Recently, an additional nickname of The Pride has
become popular. We have not changed our nickname. We are both the
Dutch (and its variations) and the Pride.
The Pride nickname started during the University’s dramatic recovery
and growth in the mid to late ‘80’s from a major fiscal crisis during the
previous decade. The first consistent use of the word “Pride” relating to
athletics started in 1989 when the University’s athletic booster club was
founded and called itself The Pride Club. At that time it had no meaning
associated with our teams. It was simply consistent with a general
feeling about all of our efforts.
The Pride nickname has also evolved over the past decade in a more
specific fashion than just the expression of the feeling. The word pride
is used to describe a sense of having strong self-respect or a sense of
accomplishment. But in 1988 the lion on the right side of the shield on
the Hofstra seal was changed into a lioness to symbolize gender equity.
This, in turn, led to the development of the University mascots — Kate
and Willie Pride, a lion and lioness. The two lions led to extensive use
of the word “Pride” in talking about Hofstra, as a group of lions is called
a pride. In 1995 bronze reproductions of the
lion and lioness were added to the campus
scenery. In fact, there are now four such
pairs of sculptures on campus.
However, the evolution continues even
further. In 1997, the University purchased a
sculpture by Paul Manship of “Atalanta,” a
figure from Greek mythology. It is an
impressive 14-foot tall figure of a running
woman. It is on the west side of Hofstra
Stadium. To complement this figure, in
1998, the University commissioned Gregg
Wyatt to sculpt a similarly sized figure of a
running man. In this case it was a
representation of “Hippomenes” who was a
central figure in the myth. The myth of
Atalanta and Hippomenes relates closely to
Hofstra symbology.
As the myth goes, an Oracle told Atalanta,
as a young girl, that she must never marry.
Thus, Atalanta avoided men and devoted
herself to the chase. Soon she could outrun
any man. Yet because Atalanta was so attractive she had many suitors.
To deal with them she imposed an almost impossible condition. She
HOFSTRA HERITAGE
would only marry one who could beat her in a foot race. While she
would be the prize of such a race, the penalty for losing was death.
Nonetheless there were suitors and there was need of a judge for such
races. Hippomenes was chosen for this role. However, when he saw
Atalanta he immediately fell in love with her. Knowing he could never out
run her, he sought the help of Venus.
Venus agreed, and gave him three golden apples, which Hippomenes
was to throw in front of Atalanta during the race. The apples were so
desirable it would be impossible for her to resist picking them up, and
thus she would lose the race. All this came to pass, and when the race
was over and won by Hippomenes, they fell deeply in love and the youth
carried off his prize. However, they angered Venus for their failure to
thank her. As punishment, she turned Hippomenes into a lion and
Atalanta into a lioness.
With this strong identification with lions and the multiple meanings of
the word pride, our coaches and players, as well as the sports media,
have begun to use it extensively over the last several years. Our
women’s teams especially are more comfortable calling themselves The
Pride, which is genderless, than they are calling themselves The Flying
Dutchwomen or the Lady Dutch. The men’s teams are also comfortable
with the nickname Pride.
However, as noted earlier, we have not abandoned the Flying Dutchmen
or formally adopted The Pride. There is nothing wrong with having more
than one nickname. It is not uncommon for a school to have two
nicknames as institutions such as Yale, Virginia, Georgia Tech and Army
have multiple monikers. The bottom line is our name is HOFSTRA.
OFSTRA PRIDE WRESTLING