Central Missouri Mules and Jennies
| Central Missouri Mules Jennies |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| University | University of Central Missouri |
| Conference | MIAA |
| NCAA | Division II |
| Athletic director | Jerry Hughes |
| Location | Warrensburg, Missouri |
| Varsity teams | 14 |
| Football stadium | Audrey J. Walton Stadium |
| Basketball arena | UCM Multipurpose Building |
| Mascot | Mo the Mule |
| Nickname | Mules & Jennies |
| Fight song | 'Go Mules' |
| Colors | Cardinal and Black |
| Website | www |
The sports teams at the University of Central Missouri are known as the Mules (men) and Jennies (women). They participate in the NCAA's Division II and in the MIAA Conference.
Men's sports
Women's sports
When the 1921–22 school year began, school officials decided "Normals" and "Teachers" were no longer appropriate nicknames for Central's athletic teams. Therefore, the school's athletic committee established a contest that promised the winner a three-year postgraduate subscription of the school newspaper. More than 80 suggestions were received, but the winning entry was submitted by John Thomason of Chilhowee, Missouri, Class of 1924, who felt that at least one Missouri team should be known as "Mules".
The "Jennies" nickname for Central Missouri's women's athletic teams was officially adopted in February, 1974 after the school's student newspaper, The Muleskinner, offered a prize of $50 in a contest to choose a nickname for the women's athletic teams. Cynthia Almaguer of Knob Noster, Missouri, Class of 1974, was chosen winner from 34 entries. Almaguer told the contest judges, "The reason I picked the name is because of the obvious feminine kinship of the jenny to our mule mascot. It is a fact that a mule is a descendant of a female donkey – the jenny."
In truth, however, mules are sired by jack asses (male donkeys) mated to mares (female horses). A jenny crossed with a stallion produces a hinny.
The Mules have been playing basketball since 1905, and are among the top two teams in all-time wins on the NCAA Division II level. The Mules have won four national titles: in 1937, 1938 (both NAIA, before the NCAA sponsored a Division II tournament), in 1984 (when UCM, then Central Missouri State University, was the first school ever to win NCAA men's and women's basketball championships in the same season), and in 2014. UCM swept the Division II titles in 1984. (The feat was later duplicated by Northwestern College (Iowa) in NAIA Division II in 2001 and the University of Connecticut in NCAA Division I in 2004 and 2014, although the Mules are the only team to win both championships on the same day and on the same court.)
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Wikipedia