- Memphis Tigers
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Not to be confused with the Memphis Tigers (1927-1935), a member of American Football League (1934)
Memphis Tigers 
University University of Memphis Conference(s) C-USA NCAA Division I Athletics director R. C. Johnson Location Memphis, TN Varsity teams Football stadium Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Basketball arena FedExForum Baseball stadium FedExPark Soccer stadium Mike Rose Soccer Complex Other arenas Elma Roane Fieldhouse Mascot TOM III Nickname Tigers Fight song Go, Tigers! Go! Colors Blue and Gray Homepage GoTigersGo.com The Memphis Tigers represent the University of Memphis in Division I of the NCAA. They are members of C-USA and currently feature nine women's sports and nine men's sports. These include:
Men's Sports
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Cross Country
- Football
- Golf
- Rifle
- Soccer
- Tennis
- Track and Field
Women's Sports
Contents
Name
When the Memphis State University first fielded a football team in the fall of 1912, no one had selected a nickname for the squad. Early references to the football team tabbed them only as the Blue and Gray Warriors.
After the final game of the 1914 season, there was a student parade. During this event, several University students shouted, "We fight like Tigers!" The nickname was born. As time passed, the nickname "Tigers" was increasingly used, particularly in campus publications, but did not catch on with the newspapers downtown. They continued to use "the Blue and Gray" when referring to the University.
Under Coach Lester Barnard in 1922, Memphis's football team gave a ring of truth to that old student yell about Tigers. The team adopted a motto - "Every Man a Tiger" - and went on to score 174 points while allowing its opponents just 29 points. The Tiger nickname continued on with students and alumni, eventually being adopted as the official nickname for the University of Memphis in 1939.
Mascot
Main article: TOM IIThe official mascot of the University of Memphis is TOM III, a live bengal tiger. The university is one of a select few schools in the country that keep a live tiger as a mascot, although the practice of live animals serving as university mascots is carried on by a number of other universities, such as Auburn University's War Eagle, and others.
Men's basketball
Main article: Memphis Tigers men's basketballThe Memphis Tigers men's basketball program first gained national prominence when it reached the 1973 NCAA Division I basketball championship game. The Tigers, led by Larry Finch, Larry Kenon, Ronnie Robinson, Bill Cook and others, eventually lost to John Wooden's UCLA Bruins, led by Bill Walton.
The Tigers continued an era of excellence throughout the 1980s and went to the Final Four in 1985 losing to Villanova, the ultimate winner of the tournament. The 1985 Final Four trip has since been vacated by the NCAA due to several recruiting violations committed by head coach Dana Kirk and his staff. Success continued through much of the 1990s. Under head coach John Calipari, the Tigers reached the Elite Eight three years in a row (2006–2008) and those same years won the conference championship, going undefeated in conference play in 2007 and 2008. Their record for those three seasons is 106-9. In 2007, the team was ranked #1 in ESPN's and CBSSports.com Pre-Season Polls and for the first time in 25 years, earned a #1 ranking on Jan. 21, 2008 in the both the AP Poll and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll. The 2008 season took the Tigers to the Final Four where Memphis lost the championship game to the Kansas Jayhawks in overtime. In 2009, the Tigers entered the NCAA tournament as a No. 2 seed. However, they lost in the Sweet Sixteen to Missouri, 102-91. In April 2009, Josh Pastner was named head coach of the Tigers.
Perennial rivals include UAB, the University of Southern Mississippi, in-state rival University of Tennessee, and former Conference USA members University of Cincinnati and University of Louisville. The world record holder for the highest slam dunk (12 feet from floor to rim) is a former University of Memphis basketball forward, and current Harlem Globetrotter Michael Wilson. At home, the Tigers play on Beale Street in the state-of-the-art FedExForum.
Football
Main article: Memphis Tigers footballThe University of Memphis football program dates back to 1912.
After decades of independence, the Memphis football program currently competes in Conference USA. The team is currently under new head coach and former Tiger running back Larry Porter after nine year veteran Tommy West was fired on November 9, 2009. The Tigers' home field is 62,380 seat Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. The U of M played in five bowl games in six seasons from 2003 to 2008. In 2005, the Tigers football team was led in the Motor City Bowl by DeAngelo Williams, a then-senior All-American running back and eventual first-round draft pick by the Carolina Panthers of the NFL.
Alumni
Recent professional athletes from the University of Memphis include:
Basketball
- Elliot Williams (guard, Portland Trail Blazers)
- Tyreke Evans (guard, Sacramento Kings)
- Derrick Rose (guard, Chicago Bulls)
- Chris Douglas-Roberts (guard, Milwaukee Bucks)
- Joey Dorsey (forward, Toronto Raptors)
- Earl Barron (center, Phoenix Suns)
- Rodney Carney (guard/forward, Golden State Warriors)
- Sean Banks, Antonio Burks (guard, KK Crvena zvezda)
- Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway
- Keith Lee
- Dajuan Wagner
- Lorenzen Wright
- Shawne Williams (Guard, New York Knicks)
- Elliot Perry
- Darius Washington Jr.
- Cedric Henderson
Football
- DeAngelo Williams (Carolina Panthers)
- Stephen Gostkowski (kicker, New England Patriots)
- Tony Brown (Tennessee Titans)
- Isaac Bruce (San Francisco 49ers)
- Mike McKenzie (New Orleans Saints)
- Brandon McDonald (Cleveland Browns)
Baseball
- Dan Uggla (second baseman, Atlanta Braves)
References
External links
- Official website
- Memphis Roar (an independent source on the University of Memphis)
- MemphisTigers.org (Largest online community of fans of the Memphis Tigers
- GoMemphisTigers.com
Athletics Memphis Tigers • Men's Basketball • Women's Basketball • Football • Women's Volleyball • University of Memphis Stadium • List of Memphis athletes • FedEx Park Baseball Field, University of Memphis • Billy J. Murphy Athletic Complex • Larry O. Finch Center • Mike Rose Soccer Complex • University of Memphis Tennis Complex • Memphis Rifle Range • Elma Roane FieldhouseJournals Southern Journal of Philosophy • University of Memphis Law Review • Mental Health Law and Policy JournalLife The Daily Helmsman • Mighty Sound of the South • FedEx Forum • Art Museum at the University of Memphis • WUMR • TOM II • TOM III • Highland Hundred • University of Memphis Foundation • Fogelman Executive Conference Center
Conference USA East Division East Carolina Pirates • Marshall Thundering Herd • Memphis Tigers • Southern Miss Golden Eagles • UAB Blazers • UCF Knights
West Division Soccer-only members Kentucky Wildcats (men's) • South Carolina Gamecocks (men's) • FIU Golden Panthers (men's) • Colorado College Tigers (women's)
Rowing-only members History Army Black Knights • Kentucky Wildcats • Memphis Tigers • NC State Wolfpack • Nebraska Cornhuskers • Ole Miss Rebels • West Virginia Mountaineers
Categories:- Memphis Tigers
- College sports teams in the United States by team
- College sports teams in Tennessee
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