Staff writer
California University of Pennsylvania and Washington & Jefferson College share more than a quest for national football championships.
They also share the same college colors, red and black.
The question is, why red and black?
The short answer, from W&J communications manager Robert Reid, is that they were randomly chosen and assigned to the Presidents by the Athletic Association in 1890.
"The association preferred navy blue and orange, but those colors had already been selected by the Western University of Pennsylvania, which later became the University of Pittsburgh," Reid wrote in an e-mail response to the query.
Those colors also are long gone for Pitt, where teams now sport blue and gold.
The theory behind the black and red colors for the Cal U. Vulcans seems to be a tad less mundane. Star Trek fans aside, Vulcan is a name from Roman mythology. He was blacksmith to the gods, toiling in the dark under Mt. Etna, and iron, when forged, is red-hot.
Angela Burrows, interim vice president of university advancement, forwarded information about a 1933 contest to select a nickname for the school. "The Vulcans was finally decided upon by the student body, and the paper, in order to practice what it preached, took the name of The Hammer and Tongs.
"The mascot reflected the school's pre-eminence in the field of industrial arts education. In 1934, the yearbook opened (and closed) with a description of the mythological figure, blacksmith to the gods:
"Vulcan raised his ponderous hammer and, with a powerful, rhythmic swing brought it down upon his anvil. He paused to reflect, while the scintillating sparks from his forge produced good-fortune. ...
"Also in 1933, the Vulcans, or fire gods, became the nickname for the school's athletic teams. Freshman teams soon were known as the Baby Vulcans."
Burrows also cited "Mascots, The History of Senior College & University Mascots and Nicknames," in which Roy E. Yarbrough wrote, "The significance of this nickname is the geographic location for the university, located in the steel-coal-coke heartland. The area is heavy in industry where blast furnaces and beehive ovens used to paint the night sky a brilliant red."
Regardless of the origins, the Washington County commissioners issued a proclamation Thursday naming Saturday "Black and Red Day" for the county at large and for Washington County employees today. They asked residents to don red and black to show their support for the schools and to acknowledge the students' achievements.
The Cal U. football team, in the Division II semifinals, will be playing at home in Adamson Stadium against the University of Minnesota-Duluth at noon Saturday.
W&J, meanwhile, is on the road at Belton, Texas, against Mary Hardin-Baylor at 1 p.m. in the Division III quarterfinals.
The commissioners also noted that the Lady Vulcans volleyball team was playing in quarterfinals Thursday.
Reid and Burrows came to the commissioners' meeting for the proclamation, as did W&J President Tori Haring-Smith, who noted, "Because the games will be played simultaneously, you can sit at the Cal game with a BlackBerry that's appropriately configured, and you'll be able to watch the live Presidents. You can get it online."'
"Your red and BlackBerry," quipped Commission Vice Chairman Bracken Burns.
Chairman Larry Maggi, a Cal U. grad who recently became the eighth person to receive a medallion of distinction from his alma mater, told Haring-Smith, "We're very proud of W&J and their accomplishments, too."
Commissioner Diana L. Irey said her son, a Ringgold senior, is considering attending California University of Pennsylvania.