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Fun Facts about the Frozen Four Schools

Most everyone who follows college sports has likely heard of Boston College and Wisconsin before, but you may be less familiar with Miami University and the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Here's a closer look at each of the schools competing in this year's Frozen Four:

 

Boston College Eagles

Bostoncollege_medium School name: Boston College
Location: Chestnut Hill, Ma.
Enrollment: 14,623 total enrollment
Colors: Maroon and gold
Hockey rivals: Boston University Terriers, New Hampshire Wildcats, Maine Black Bears
School motto says:
"Ever to Excel"
Current NHL Players:
Among others ... Brian Gionta (Montreal),  Scott Clemmensen (Florida), Brooks Orpik (Pittsburgh)
Mascot trivia: Baldwin got his name from a combination of "bald," as in a bald Eagle, and "win." Incredibly cheesy, yes, but beats the hell out of Baldwin's predecessor's name "Margo" (for "maroon" and "gold"). 

 

Miami RedHawks 

Miami_oh_medium School name: Miami University
Location:
Oxford, Oh.
Enrollment: 20,126 total enrollment system-wide
Colors: Red and white
Hockey rivals: Ohio State Buckeyes, Michigan Wolverines
School motto says: "To Accomplish Rather Than To Be Conspicuous"
Current NHL Players: Dan Boyle (San Jose), Andy Greene (New Jersey)
Mascot trivia: Due to the urging of the Miami Indian tribe, in 1996 the school discontinued the use of their Redskins nickname and replaced it with the RedHawks. The nickname RedHawks was selected from more than 3,000 different suggestions (the other two nickname finalists were the Thunderhawks and the Miamis). Miami Miamis? Really?

 

Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Tigers

Rit_tigers_logo_medium Original school name: Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute (RAMI)
Location: Henrietta, N.Y. 
Enrollment: 16,773 total enrollment
Colors: Orange and burnt umber
Hockey rivals: Canisius Golden Griffins, Air Force Falcons, Niagara Purple Eagles
School motto says: "A category-of-one university"
Current NHL AHL Players: Steve Pinizzotto (Washington Capital's Hershey Bears) 
Mascot trivia: Prior to being called the "Tigers," RIT's sports programs were referred to as the "Techmen" up until the 1950s. After the switch, in 1963, the school bought a rescued Bengal tiger named SPIRIT and was brought to sporting events for two years before it died. In keeping with cheesy mascot names, RIT's current Tiger mascot is named "RITchie." 

 

Wisconsin Badgers

Wisconsin_medium School name: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Location: Madison, Wi.
Enrollment: 42,099 total enrollment
Colors: Cardinal and white
Hockey rivals: Minnesota Golden Gophers, North Dakota Fighting Sioux
School motto says: "The divine within the universe, however manifested, is my light."
Current NHL Players: Among others ... Dany Heatley (San Jose), Brian Rafalski (Detroit), Ryan Suter (Nashville)
Mascot trivia: Wisconsin's anthropomorphic badger, Buckingham U. Badger is affectionately known as Bucky. Bucky made his first appearance in University of Wisconsin cartoons in the 1930s. After a brief stint with a live mascot, Wisconsin used a live racoon named Regdab ("badger" spelled backwards) at football games before the birth of Bucky as the school's mascot.