Stanford Cardinal

The Stanford Cardinal is the nickname of the athletic teams at Stanford University.

Nickname and mascot history
Following its win over Cal in the first-ever Big Game in 1892, the color cardinal was picked as the primary color of Stanford's athletic teams. White was adopted as a secondary color in the 1940s.

In 1930, the athletic department adopted the mascot "Indian." The Indian symbol and name were later dropped by President Richard Lyman in 1972, after objections from Native American students and a vote by the student senate.

From 1972 to 1981, the official nickname was the Cardinals. Despite the plural form of the name, the name was intended to refer to the color, not the bird. During the 1970s, a number of suggestions were put forth as possible nicknames: Robber Barons (a sly reference to Leland Stanford's history), Sequoias, Trees, Railroaders, Spikes, Huns and Griffins. The last suggestion gained enough momentum to prompt the university to move two griffin statues to be near the athletic facilities.

On November 17, 1981, school President Donald Kennedy declared that the athletic teams be represented by the color Cardinal in its singular form.

Stanford has no official mascot, but the Stanford Tree, a member of the Stanford Band wearing a self-designed tree costume, appears at major Stanford sports events. The Tree is based upon El Palo Alto, a redwood tree in neighboring Palo Alto that appears in the Stanford seal and athletics logo.

National championships


Through the Spring 2011 sports season, Stanford has won 116 national championships. Of these, 103 are NCAA team championships, second most among all universities (UCLA ranks first). 61 of the championships are in men's sports (third behind UCLA and USC) and 42 are in women's sports, the most of any university. Stanford also holds the most NCAA D-I individual sport titles at 448 championships, followed by USC at 367, and Texas at 317.

Stanford has won the NACDA Director's Cup for Division I, awarded annually to the college or university with the most success in collegiate athletics, for 18 consecutive years (1994-95 to 2011-12). In the Cup's inaugural year (the only year in which Stanford did not place first), Stanford placed second behind UNC-Chapel Hill.

Stanford has won national championships in the following sports (number of championships in parentheses, NCAA titles unless otherwise specified):


 * Men's
 * Baseball (2) - 1987, 1988
 * Basketball (1-NCAA, 1-Helms) - 1942, 1937 (Helms)
 * Cross country (4) - 1996, 1997, 2002, 2003
 * Golf (8) - 1938, 1939, 1941, 1942, 1946, 1953, 1994, 2007
 * Football (2-Helms) - 1926, 1940
 * Gymnastics (5) - 1992, 1993, 1995, 2009, 2011
 * Swimming & diving (8) - 1967, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1998
 * Tennis (17- NCAA, 1-unofficial) - 1973, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000 (1942-unofficial)
 * Outdoor track & field (4) - 1925, 1928, 1934, 2000
 * Volleyball (2) - 1997, 2010
 * Water polo (10- NCAA, 1-unofficial) - 1976, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1994, 1995, 2001, 2002 (1963-unofficial)

Total men's NCAA Championships: 61  (in 10 different men's team sports)


 * Women's
 * Basketball (2) - 1990, 1992
 * Cross country (5) - 1996, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007
 * Rowing (1) - 2009
 * Swimming & diving (8-NCAA, 1-AIAW) - 1983, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998 (1980-AIAW)
 * Synchronized swimming (6-U.S. Collegiate Championships) - 1998, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
 * Soccer (1) - 2011
 * Tennis (16- NCAA, 1-AIAW) - 1982, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010 (1978-AIAW)
 * Volleyball (6) - 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2004
 * Water polo (3) - 2002, 2011, 2012

Total women's NCAA Championships: 42  (in 9 different women's team sports)


 * Co-ed
 * Sailing - 1997 (ICRA championship)

Rugby
Stanford has fielded a college rugby team since 1906, and replaced football entirely until 1917. Stanford achieved one of the most surprising victories of American rugby's early history by beating a touring Australian club team in 1912. Rugby remained a varsity sport at Stanford until 1977. Despite the loss of varsity status, the Stanford Rugby Foundation covers many of the team's expenses from an endowment fund.

From 1996 to 1998 Stanford reached the national semifinals in three consecutive years, finishing second in 1998. Stanford rugby plays in the California conference of D1-A college rugby. During the 2010-11 season, Stanford was champion of the Northern California conference, reached the national quarterfinals, and finished the season ranked 4th in D1-AA rugby. Stanford were promoted to D1-A following the 2011-12 season. Stanford rugby is one of the largest sports programs on campus, with over 100 players. Stanford Rugby is lead by Director of Rugby Matt Sherman, who has served as an assistant coach for the U.S. men's national team.

Cal rivalry
Stanford has a traditional sports rivalry in the San Francisco Bay Area with the University of California, Berkeley.

Olympics representation
Stanford athletes have traditionally been very well represented at the Olympics. In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Stanford sent 47 current or former student athletes, 32 of whom competed for the United States, 14 for other countries, and one as a coach for the United States softball team. In all, Stanford athletes won 25 medals: For the 2012 London Olympics, 39 athletes are from Stanford and 26 will represent Team USA.

Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame
The Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame was established on December 21, 1954. The brainchild of Walt Gamage, sports editor of the now-defunct Palo Alto Times, the first class of inductees consisted of 34 Stanford sports greats. New members are inducted annually and are recognized during halftime of a home Stanford football game. The Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame Room is located on the first floor of the Arrillaga Family Sports Center on the Stanford campus.