Billikens, Boilermakers, & Banana Slugs

Most fans of college athletics have heard of the Indiana Hoosiers, the Georgetown Hoyas, or the St. Louis Billikens. But what exactly are Hoosiers, Hoyas, and Billikens? Where did these nicknames originate? For more than a century, collegiate athletes have proudly competed with these and other names on their uniforms, and neither they nor the fans who so robustly cheered them on had the slightest clue what the moniker meant.