The Gold?

[Galway Eagle]

Isn't northwestern or university of Chicago the best school in the Midwest? I feel like one of those would be the "Harvard of the Midwest"

[Eldon]

Isn't northwestern or university of Chicago the best school in the Midwest? I feel like one of those would be the "Harvard of the Midwest"

Definitely, but Michigan is right up there with them.  Chicago seems more like an MIT with their lack of DI sports and all.

[augoman]

UW at Madison is definately not be in the same class as Northwestern and U. Chicago..., but it might well be the Harvard of Dane County.

[ChicosBailBonds]

That name change only lasted a short time.  Days?  A week or two?  I still think it was a conspiracy to make everyone content with the current nickname - and it worked beautifully.  After the temporary "Gold" all the students were happy to go back to the Golden Eagles.  They even had a "vote" on campus. 

According to a few board members I spoke to at the time (I was interviewed for a few articles in the Journal Sentinel and others, so I wanted their take before the interviews), it was anything but that.  It was the plan to go with Gold, presented to the Board, bought off by the board and then they actually doubled down on it the first few days after it blew up in their faces.  Father Wild admitted as much.  Bad, bad, bad.  PRN is right that Zizzo was their to sell it, but they also put the whole thing together as a viable alternative to Warriors and GE according to the BOT members I spoke to.  Owned it completely.

I'll still never forget these quotes...unbelievable.

“You’re going to see opinions and attitudes change as the Gold develops and as we put out into the marketplace the future of what Gold is.”
-Anne Zizzo

""Personally, I wanted to be sure the discussion was thoughtful and that we reached out to different stakeholders. We expected the debate to unfold just the way it did."
-Anne Zizzo  (really, just the way it did with 93% of the people against it.  OMG)

So ... do you like the nickname 'Gold'?
No (92.5%)
Yes (7.5%)
Total votes: 13,920



Memory lane....good times...I love the one about the NFL team having to change their nickname and high priced attorneys are going to make it happen.  8 years later and looks to me like no NFL team with an Indian name has changed their name.   

http://www.onmilwaukee.com/sports/articles/czabegold.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/18/sports/ncaabasketball/18marquette.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

http://mu-warrior.blogspot.com/2005/05/marquettes-trustee-losers.html

http://www.jenders.com/2009/07/29/marquette-warriors-logo/

http://mu-warrior.blogspot.com/2005/05/john-f-bergstrom-and-gold-decision.html

http://www.crackedsidewalks.com/2005/05/marquette-gold.html

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=O7oaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=N0UEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6215,5765421&dq=marquette+gold+nickname&hl=en

http://mu-warrior.blogspot.com/2005/05/alumna-reacts-to-bergstrom-talk.html

http://mu-warrior.blogspot.com/2005/05/john-j-stollenwerk-explains-recants.html

[djvern414]

That makes sense.  I'm trying to remember the collective psychology of the campus at the time.  But when they put together a vote (which IIRC had only 4 options for names), I'm not sure what that was supposed to prove. Ultimately, I think it did make students somewhat complacent against a growing surge of advocates for "Warriors."

This season needs to start already...

[MerrittsMustache]

I've had the chance to talk to a few of the boards members who were around back then. It wasn't said outright but I can almost guarantee that this is exactly what happened.

Not buying the conspiracy theory. However, the BoT did take took the extra step of saying that write-in votes for Warriors wouldn't be counted, which led to a lot of pro-Warriors alums not bothering to vote. In the end, they counted the Warrior write-ins and used the low-ish number to prove that people didn't want that nickname back.

It was a debacle from start to finish.

[Chicago_inferiority_complexes]

Not buying the conspiracy theory. However, the BoT did take took the extra step of saying that write-in votes for Warriors wouldn't be counted, which led to a lot of pro-Warriors alums not bothering to vote. In the end, they counted the Warrior write-ins and used the low-ish number to prove that people didn't want that nickname back.

Yup. Dishonest people all around that debacle.

[Avenue Commons]

That name change only lasted a short time.  Days?  A week or two?  I still think it was a conspiracy to make everyone content with the current nickname - and it worked beautifully.  After the temporary "Gold" all the students were happy to go back to the Golden Eagles.  They even had a "vote" on campus. 

Incorrect. Marquette was never the "Gold."  The name change was merely proposed, never officially adopted.

Should have gone back to Hilltoppers or Golden Avalanche.

[MUCam]

To this date I will continue to maintain that the "Gold" was better than whatever we have been left with.

On a list of preferred names:

1. Warriors
2. Hilltoppers
3. Avalanche
4. Jumpin' Jesuits
5. Golden Warriors
6. Avalanche Warriors
7. Jesuit Avalanche
8. Golden Warring Hilltoppers
...
...
75. Gold
...
...
1267. Pretty Flowers
...
...
4,651,111. Golden Eagles

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

To this date I will continue to maintain that the "Gold" was better than whatever we have been left with.

On a list of preferred names:

1. Warriors
2. Hilltoppers
3. Avalanche
4. Jumpin' Jesuits
5. Golden Warriors
6. Avalanche Warriors
7. Jesuit Avalanche
8. Golden Warring Hilltoppers
...
...
75. Gold
...
...
1267. Pretty Flowers
...
...
4,651,111. Golden Eagles

I totally agree.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

According to a few board members I spoke to at the time (I was interviewed for a few articles in the Journal Sentinel and others, so I wanted their take before the interviews), it was anything but that.  It was the plan to go with Gold, presented to the Board, bought off by the board and then they actually doubled down on it the first few days after it blew up in their faces.  Father Wild admitted as much.  Bad, bad, bad.  PRN is right that Zizzo was their to sell it, but they also put the whole thing together as a viable alternative to Warriors and GE according to the BOT members I spoke to.  Owned it completely.

I'll still never forget these quotes...unbelievable.

“You’re going to see opinions and attitudes change as the Gold develops and as we put out into the marketplace the future of what Gold is.”
-Anne Zizzo

""Personally, I wanted to be sure the discussion was thoughtful and that we reached out to different stakeholders. We expected the debate to unfold just the way it did."
-Anne Zizzo  (really, just the way it did with 93% of the people against it.  OMG)

So ... do you like the nickname 'Gold'?
No (92.5%)
Yes (7.5%)
Total votes: 13,920



Memory lane....good times...I love the one about the NFL team having to change their nickname and high priced attorneys are going to make it happen.  8 years later and looks to me like no NFL team with an Indian name has changed their name.   

http://www.onmilwaukee.com/sports/articles/czabegold.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/18/sports/ncaabasketball/18marquette.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

http://mu-warrior.blogspot.com/2005/05/marquettes-trustee-losers.html

http://www.jenders.com/2009/07/29/marquette-warriors-logo/

http://mu-warrior.blogspot.com/2005/05/john-f-bergstrom-and-gold-decision.html

http://www.crackedsidewalks.com/2005/05/marquette-gold.html

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=O7oaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=N0UEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6215,5765421&dq=marquette+gold+nickname&hl=en

http://mu-warrior.blogspot.com/2005/05/alumna-reacts-to-bergstrom-talk.html

http://mu-warrior.blogspot.com/2005/05/john-j-stollenwerk-explains-recants.html

the fact that dumb clam is still on MU's BOT says a lot about the way this University is run.

[ChicosBailBonds]

To this date I will continue to maintain that the "Gold" was better than whatever we have been left with.

On a list of preferred names:

1. Warriors
2. Hilltoppers
3. Avalanche
4. Jumpin' Jesuits
5. Golden Warriors
6. Avalanche Warriors
7. Jesuit Avalanche
8. Golden Warring Hilltoppers
...
...
75. Gold
...
...
1267. Pretty Flowers
...
...
4,651,111. Golden Eagles

93% of MU alumni, students, etc, disagree.  Gold was horrific.

[Eldon]

Which is worse, gold or orange?

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

To this date I will continue to maintain that the "Gold" was better than whatever we have been left with.

On a list of preferred names:

1. Warriors
2. Hilltoppers
3. Avalanche
4. Jumpin' Jesuits
5. Golden Warriors
6. Avalanche Warriors
7. Jesuit Avalanche
8. Golden Warring Hilltoppers
...
...
75. Gold
...
...
1267. Pretty Flowers
...
...
4,651,111. Golden Eagles

They missed a huge opportunity to just go back to "Hilltoppers" and hide behind "It's MU's original name"

It would be really hard to raise a big stink about that.

[Henry Sugar]

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Bricky's back!

[Pakuni]

Memory lane....good times...I love the one about the NFL team having to change their nickname and high priced attorneys are going to make it happen.  8 years later and looks to me like no NFL team with an Indian name has changed their name.   

Probably just a matter of time in that NFL team's case. Maybe not next year or the year after that, but I'd be very surprised of the the Washington Redskins exist 10 years from now.

[mujivitz06]

It was the end of my junior year so I can remember the situation pretty distinctly. We were the Gold officially for a total of 6 days before they decided to scrap it and have the vote.

I was an RA and during that 6 day period was the end of the year thank you event they have every year for the RA's where we got to go up to the 5th floor of the union and feel like we're cool for an hour. Well Fr. Wild always gives a little speech and obviously couldn't avoid the big issue. He joked about how they were embroiled in a bit of a controversy but they really believed in the Gold name and had confidence that after the initial firestorm it would work well. They said they would be sticking with it and encouraged the student leaders to have a positive attitude about it. Needless to say a few days later it was done.

Very interesting time on campus.

[MU82]

My main memory is that Sports Illustrated columnist Steve Rushin (an MU alum) absolutely -- and hilariously -- ripped the university and ridiculed the decision. Within days (hours?), The Gold was history.

I'm sure there were many other factors, but this speaks to the power that SI used to have in the pre-Web days.

[GGGG]

My main memory is that Sports Illustrated columnist Steve Rushin (an MU alum) absolutely -- and hilariously -- ripped the university and ridiculed the decision. Within days (hours?), The Gold was history.

I'm sure there were many other factors, but this speaks to the power that SI used to have in the pre-Web days.

2005 was "pre-web??"

[brewcity77]

Isn't northwestern or university of Chicago the best school in the Midwest? I feel like one of those would be the "Harvard of the Midwest"

According to Barry Alvarez, it's Nebraska

[Eldon]

It was the end of my junior year so I can remember the situation pretty distinctly. We were the Gold officially for a total of 6 days before they decided to scrap it and have the vote.

I was an RA and during that 6 day period was the end of the year thank you event they have every year for the RA's where we got to go up to the 5th floor of the union and feel like we're cool for an hour. Well Fr. Wild always gives a little speech and obviously couldn't avoid the big issue. He joked about how they were embroiled in a bit of a controversy but they really believed in the Gold name and had confidence that after the initial firestorm it would work well. They said they would be sticking with it and encouraged the student leaders to have a positive attitude about it. Needless to say a few days later it was done.

Very interesting time on campus.

It must have been in that 6-day period then, when a buddy of mine went to town at the spirit shop--all "Golden Eagles" items had their prices slashed.

[mu-rara]

you come across as jealous...

i like the smallness of mu...but academically the two don't compare.  it's surely not apples to apples, so why even bother...just comes across as a petty inferiority complex.   

I beg to differ.  UW @ Madison's high ratings involve post grad programs.  The undergrad education is really nothing special.

[MU82]

2005 was "pre-web??"

Meant to say pre-Twitter. D'oh!

[ChicosBailBonds]

Probably just a matter of time in that NFL team's case. Maybe not next year or the year after that, but I'd be very surprised of the the Washington Redskins exist 10 years from now.

Probably, especially in this PC world we live in.  I wouldn't be surprised that Cowboys will have to change some day...wouldn't want to offend any genders.  Chiefs will be on the list, even though the name has nothing to do with Indians.  I just found it interesting that 8 years ago this was supposed to be imminent?