HOW ST. THOMAS AQUINAS COLLEGE BECAME THE "SPARTANS"

When St. Thomas Aquinas College began admitting men full-time in 1970, STAC did not have a nickname for either its men's or women's teams. Local sports writers used the nicknames "Sparks" and "Saints" in STAC's first year of having both men's and women's athletics. However, the college never officially called themselves either nickname.

At the beginning of year two, the Men's Basketball team held a meeting to discuss coming up with a better nickname that they thought would fit the athletic programs at the college. Amongst the members of the team, a couple of names were thrown out, including the "Saints” because of the college's Catholic background. One player, Michael Monahan ('74), said "how about the Spartans?". He thought that the STAC Spartans sounded much better and explained to his teammates the courage and sacrifice shown by the 300 Spartans under King Leonidas I at the Battle of Thermopylae in order to save their city against the invading Persians. Based on the story, the team voted on "Spartans” as the new nickname.

And that is how the Spartan tradition started at St. Thomas Aquinas College.

VINTAGE SPARTAN LOGOS (1970-2009)