10. Arkansas State also has an arch
Missouri should be able to relate to Arkansas State. The Arch in St. Louis is Missouri’s most notable landmark. On Arkansas State’s campus, the most famous landmark is an arch. It sits in the middle of campus and once marked the entrance of the original administration building. That building was lost in a fire back in 1931. The arch is all that remains, and it’s now iconic, not unlike the columns at MU.
9. Everyone at Arkansas State knows Clyde
Clyde is the name of Arkansas State’s most recognizable statue on campus. The marble statue of an old American Indian chief was purchased by the ASU Student Government for $1,200. The tradition goes that freshmen were once required to tip their beanie at Clyde whenever they walked by him. If an upperclassmen spotted a freshman ignoring Clyde, that first-year student was forced to sing the fight song on the spot. That tradition has been discontinued, but Clyde is still a monumental figure on the campus.
8. Arkansas State wasn’t always known as the Red Wolves
Arkansas State changed its nickname from the Indians to the Red Wolves back in 2008. Since 1931, Arkansas State had referred to itself as the Indians in honor of the Osage Indian tribe. But after getting backlash for the nickname, the school retired the Indian mascot at its final home basketball of the 2008 season. The school has since been phasing out Indian imagery from the athletics department. However, the school still lists the “Indian Uprising” as a tradition on its website. It involves all off the students standing before the opening tip off at basketball games.
7. The most important man in Arkansas is an ASU alumnus
Mike Beebe, the governor of Arkansas since 2007, attended Arkansas State. So that’s one thing Arkansas State has over the University of Arkansas.
6. The NFL pipeline
Even though the Red Wolves play in the Sun Belt Conference, the Red Wolves have had more than 100 players sign professional contracts since 1970.
5. The Guard-Around
Larry Lacewell, who coached Arkansas State football from 1979-1989, liked to get creative on offense. So creative, in fact, that he would hand the ball off to offensive linemen in order to trick the defense. Arkansas State scored two touchdowns on the play, known as the Guard-Around. Both touchdowns came in the playoffs, too. Needless to say, Missouri coach Gary Pinkel probably doesn’t have any designed runs for Max Copeland in his playbook.
4. Arkansas State wasn’t always such a big university
Arkansas State was initially founded as an agriculture school back in 1909. It wasn’t until 1967 that the school gained university status, and it has since grown into the second largest university in the state of Arkansas.
3. The Paint Bucket Bowl
Few teams have had such a respectable rivalry towards one another than Arkansas State and Memphis State had in the 1950s. The two schools both designated an area of campus that the winner of the Paint Bucket Bowl could color however it wished. The reasoning given by Arkansas State’s website is that the schools wanted to avoid other pranks that happen between rival schools, including the kidnapping of players. Who knew that was such an issue?
2. Another leftover ritual
Before every homecoming game, Arkansas State beats the War Drum. Traditionally, the freshman involved in the football program take one-hour shifts for the 24 hours prior to kickoff on homecoming weekend. This may be another tradition that falls out of favor once the American Indian imagery is completely phased out of the athletic department.
1. Milk and cookies
Steve Roberts coached Arkansas State from 2002-2010, brought an interesting tradition with him. The night before every game, he had the team gather for milk and cookies and visit with teammates they hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to throughout the week as a means of team building. What better way for a team to bond than over milk and cookies?
