Archives West Finding Aid

From its inception in 1889 until 1917, the University of Idaho did not have an official mascot; instead, people associated with the university including athletics were referred to as "Idahoans." This changed in early 1917 when Harry Lloyd McCarty, sports editor of the student newspaper The Argonaut, used the term "Heckers" in an article dated Feb 17. This term didn't last too long – in November of that year, McCarty used a new term for members of the Idaho football team – he made a play on Heckers and created "Wreckers."

The "Wreckers" did not last too long, either. Sports writer McCarty change his reference to vandals in the Argonaut in January after referring to our team as vandalizing their opponent. The name "Vandals" continued to be used for a few years, until 1921 when sports writer McCarty and Dean of College of Liberal Arts Edward Hulme succeeded in their push to have Vandals used by all of the athletic teams at the university.

It wasn't until 1924 when editor of the Gem of the Mountains Peter Paul Drus created the first manifestation of the Vandal in a statue that is still held in SPEC today. The 1924 yearbook featured multiple images of the Vandal, including a transformation of the Vandal from infant to older man on the front pages to each class year. Now the university had both a name (Vandal) and a mascot of sorts that was used for both athletics and those associated with the university.

[adapted from a 2022 talk by Amy Thompson]