Arkansas Razorback Traditions

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Arkansas’ athletic teams have not always been called the Razorbacks. During the early years of its athletic history, the Cardinal served as the University nickname.

A lot of things changed in 1909, however, when Arkansas football coach Hugo Bezdek called his players “a wild band of Razorback hogs,” after guiding his team to a 16-0 victory over Louisiana State on October 30, 1909.

Alluding to the Razorback, characterized by a ridge back and tenacious, wild fighting ability, Bezdek never forgot this idea and often called his team “a fighting band of Razorbacks.” This new nickname became increasingly popular and the student body voted to change the official University mascot from the Cardinal to the Razorbacks in 1910.

In the 1920s, “Wooo, Pig, Sooie” was added as the school yell, referred to more commonly as the “Hog Call.”

There are dozens of Lions, Tigers and Bears, but in all of college athletics there is only one Razorback. The distinctive logo of the Arkansas teams is officially known as the Profile Hog, but is known to many fans as the Helmet Hog -- a fixture of the football team’s helmet for almost half a century.