History of the Rockets
The Toledo Rockets are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing the University of Toledo. The Rockets compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a Mid-American Conference (MAC) member. The school's colors are midnight blue and gold.
Toledo's principal rivals are the Falcons of Bowling Green State University. The two teams play for a yearly trophy known as the Peace Pipe, a prize that originated in basketball but progressed to football in 1980. This rivalry is sometimes known as "The Battle for I-75" because the cities of Toledo and Bowling Green are located just off Interstate 75, and only 20 miles separate the two campuses.
College Sports Established
1872
Location
Toledo, Ohio
College Name
University of Toledo
Collegiate History
1973 - Present / NCAA Division I
1950 - 1973 / University Division of the NCAA
Conference History
1950 - Present / MAC Conference
Nickname
Rockets - The sports teams of Toledo University were originally referenced as the Blue and Gold, Munies (for municipal university), and Dwyer's Boys (after head football coach James Dwyer) prior to 1923.
In a 1923 football match with favored Carnegie Tech, reporters from Pittsburgh learned that Toledo did not have a nickname. They pressed James E. Neal, a staff writer for The Campus Collegian in the press box to come up with a nickname for his school's team. William B. Hook, a substitute guard for Toledo grabbed a Carnegie fumble and ran 99 yards for a touchdown. While Toledo suffered a 32–12 loss, Neal labeled the team "Skyrockets" for their efforts against the favored team. Sportswriters noted that Hook looked more like a rocket than a skyrocket on his fumble return, as Carnegie Tech players failed to tackle him. Some stories began to reference the name "Rockets" with quotation marks. One week later, quotation marks were dropped and Toledo's nickname became the Rockets.
NCAA Championships
Baseball 0
Men's Basketball 0
Women's Basketball 0
Football 0
Soccer 0
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