MaxPreps Mascot Mondays: Tennessee high school mascots

Just as important as a school's name and its location is its mascot. Options abound, and some teams go with the commonplace while others go with the truly unique.

In Tennessee, there are 403 schools with mascots listed in the MaxPreps database. Listed below are the Top 15 most popular mascot names in Tennessee, the mascot names that only one school owns and other mascot facts/stats.

ALWAYS PUTTING THEIR BEST FEET FORWARD
Stomping feet is not what the people at The Webb School (Bell Buckle) want to see. Nor do they want to see anything about foot odor. But they probably have some of the fastest track and cross country runners, not to mention stellar soccer athletes and a field goal kick who can knock field goals through the goalposts all day long. The south's oldest continuously operating boarding school is named after its founder, and after a stint as the Scholars, it became Webb Feet. A possible alternate mascot name would be ducks, or geese, but we favor feet for sure.

BLACK AND BLUE BRUISERS
Don't just assume that they are dainty and soft at Girls Prep (Chattanooga). You might end up black and blue, just like the school colors. They are the only Bruisers at Girls Prep, and a story in the Chattanoogan reveals that the name doesn't necessarily reflect the values of the school, but they've come to enjoy it. “I didn’t particularly like it,” retired athletic director, teacher and coach Peggy Thomas said in the story. “I didn’t think it was very feminine. But it stuck and now it’s OK.” It's an upstanding school, and it's one with a unique nickname. Whatever you do, don't expect to win a game against Girls Prep without getting a little hurt with it.        

FOUNDER OF THE POUNDERS
A somewhat common way that some schools got their mascot names was through words that newspaper reporters attached to teams. The most famous example may be in college football, with the Alabama Crimson Tide earning its name from a reporter. The case is the same at Chattanooga Central (Harrison), where the story is that the football team was pounding opponents back in the 30's, so it stuck, and they are now the Pounders. More importantly, they are the only Pounders in the nation.

BEARS OF THE SMOKY VARIETY
At Sevier County (Sevierville), the Smoky Bears mascot name has nothing to do with Smokey the Bear, the United States Forest Service mascot who reminds us not to play with matches. The Smoky Bears draw their mascot name from the town's location just outside Great Smoky Mountains National Park, part of the Great Smoky Mountains. We see lots of different types of bears on the mascot list in America (including Honeybears in Tennessee) but the smoky variety only exists in eastern Tennessee.

DON'T TURN ON THE TURKEYS
The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association sanctions bowling, so St. Mary's Episcopal (Memphis) should win the state title every season. With a name like the Turkeys, it should be three-straight strikes every time. This mascot name is one that doesn't have its origins published online, and it's a somewhat surprising choice for an episcopal school. Now before you think of lunchmeat or a Thanksgiving dinner, be sure to read up on what makes turkeys an honorable mascot choice. National Geographic states that Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey, not the bald eagle, to be the national bird, after all.

TOP 15 MOST POPULAR MASCOT NAMES
# Eagles 25 (There are 3 Golden Eagles)
# Tigers 24 (There is 1 Hustlin' Tigers and 1 Purple Tigers)
# Wildcats 20 (There is 1 Golden Wildcats)
# Bulldogs 14
# Warriors 14
# Cougars 12
# Panthers 12
# Lions 12
Patriots 10
Rebels 10
# Indians 9
# Mustangs 8
# Vikings 8
Yellowjackets 8
Hawks 8 (There is 1 Red Hawks)
# Denotes mascot name is in America's Top 15

MASCOT NAMES USED BY ONLY 1 SCHOOL

Admirals Badgers Beavers Bees Big Red Bison Black Knights Blue Raiders Blue Tornado Broncos *Bruisers Burros Champions Choctaws Commanders Commandos

Coyotes Cubs *Feet Fightin' Irish *Fighting Cocks *Fighting    Cyclones Firebirds Golden Bears Golden Tide Golden Tornadoes *Golden Wildcats Governors Green Devils Grizzlies *Honeybears

Huskies *Hustlin' Tigers Jets Lynx Minutemen Mountain Lions Mountaineers Nighthawks Pharaohs Phoenix *Pounders Purple Tigers *Purple Wave Rangers Raptors Ravens

Red Hawks Red Knights Redskins *Revolution Scarabs Scrappers Seahawks *Shires *Smoky Bears Sting Swordsmen Tomcats Tornadoes Trailblazers *Turkeys

* Denotes that no other school in America has that mascot name

MASCOT STATS
Most popular mascot name is used by 6.2 percent of schools.
There are 124 different mascot names for 403 schools.
13 schools have mascot names that no other American school has.
Tennessee's Top 15 features 11 of America's Top 15 mascot names.