There’s a nice pro draw at the Warhawk open this weekend, a great local tournament held on the campus of the University of Louisiana – Monroe (hence the Warhawk moniker; that’s their mascot).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Quick tangent on the mascot name “Warhawk.” My high school’s mascot was also the Warhawks, which seemed initially like an odd choice for a high school in the leafy suburbs of Washington DC named after a President who served in the early 1800s (James Madison High School in Vienna, Virginia), until one does a little bit of research into the War of 1812. The war, fought against the British, occurred during Madison’s term and was spurred on thanks to a faction of congress called, yes you guessed it, the “War Hawks.” They were convinced that the British were “violating the honor” of the young country and pushed for war, to which eventually Madison agreed. A “hawk” in political parlance continues to be used today to describe someone who forcefully advocates for something usually related to the military (i.e., someone is a “Military Hawk” if they push for more military spending).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
See https:\/\/sharetngov.tnsosfiles.com\/\u2026\/exhi\u2026\/1812\/index.htm or https:\/\/sharetngov.tnsosfiles.com\/\u2026\/exh\u2026\/1812\/intro3.htm<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, how does a university in Monroe, Louisiana end up with Warhawk as a mascot? Ironically, Louisiana (which was purchased by Madison’s predecessor in the White House, Mr. Jefferson) became a state in April of 1812, about 2 months before the declaration of war was made, but there’s no evidence politicians from the former French territory were part of the War Hawk movement that led to war. Instead, It turns out that UL-Monroe, like many universities in the US, had a Native American-themed mascot that the NCAA forced them to change. And in 2006 the school conducted a poll of its students, and War hawk was a suggestion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So where’d they get that name from? Well, it turns out a famous general from WWII named Claire Lee Chennault grew up in Franklin parish, just outside of Monroe, commanded a squadron of planes nicknamed “War hawks” in the war, and there’s now a Chennault Aviation and Military Museum near the Monroe airport. So its a fitting tribute to a famous local military hero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n