"War Eagle" is the school's motto and battle cry, but all its athletic teams are nicknamed the Tigers. That sometimes proves ...

You get the hint. Why then is the University of Akron known as the Zips, and why would the school have the kangaroo Zippy as a mascot? The story hops around more than a pouched marsupial in Australia.

Auburn University notes that its teams have been known as the Tigers since it fielded its first football team in 1892. The school says its motto, War Eagle, "has become a way for the Auburn Family ...