TOM (mascot)

TOM (commonly referred to as Tom the tiger) is the name of three Bengal tigers which have served as the mascot of the University of Memphis Tigers since 1972. TOM III, the current mascot, attends Tigers football home games and other university events. The Tigers also have a costumed mascot called Pouncer.

TOM III is housed and cared for by the Tiger Guard, a committee of the Highland Hundred football booster club. University funds are not used to provide for the tiger's needs. The University of Memphis is one of two universities in the United States that use a live tiger as a mascot (the other being LSU) and has received criticism from animal welfare organizations.^[1]^[2]

History

TOM I

The first tiger, TOM, was purchased for $1,500 by the Highland Hundred Football Boosters in 1972. TOM was placed in a dog kennel and flown to Memphis on November 9, 1972.^[3] The tiger cub was taken to Athletic Director Billy J. Murphy's office for a press conference and was officially presented to Memphis University in a Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium ceremony during the November 11, 1972 football game against the University of Cincinnati.

TOM was initially named Shane at the suggestion of the breeder’s daughter. Once in Memphis, a contest was held to rename the mascot and over 2,500 entries were submitted to a committee chaired by Harry Pierotti. The list was reduced to two choices, Shane, and TOM, which stands for Tigers Of Memphis and TOM was the victor.

During his first few months in Memphis, TOM was housed in Highland Hundred member Bill Proctor's garage. TOM was later moved to the Memphis Zoo^[2] and put under the care of trainer Louie Bell. The tiger grew to weigh over 600 pounds, becoming one of the larger documented captive Bengal tigers. TOM served as mascot for nearly 20 years until passing away in February 1992.

TOM II

As TOM grew older, the decision was made by the Highland Hundred to keep the Tiger Tradition alive by securing a new tiger to be raised as TOM II. In the fall of 1991, Highland Hundred President Ray Daniels and President-Elect Bobby Wharton received TOM II as a gift from Tom and Carolyn Atchison of Florence, Alabama. The tiger was born on July 11 of that year, and, as TOM had been, he was presented by the Highland Hundred to the university in a ceremony at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium on November 16, 1991, during a football game against the University of Alabama.

TOM II spent his life housed in private facilities maintained by the Highland Hundred Tiger Guard. After a few months spent living in the home of William Nixon, TOM was moved to a tiger house constructed at St. Nick’s Farm and Zoological Park in the Memphis suburb of Collierville. The $300,000 facility was paid for by the Tiger Guard. TOM II matured, growing to weigh more than 500 pounds.

TOM II lived in the Collierville facility for nearly 14 years. In the summer of 2005, the Tiger Guard, led by Bobby Wharton, began construction of a new habitat in a rural area just south of Memphis on land owned by Jeff and Mary Kuntz. The new facility was similar to the original and included two swimming pools, a dedicated water well, a climate-controlled den box, a veterinary facility and multiple redundant security features.

TOM II was diagnosed with cancer during an annual 2008 medical examination, and died on October 15 of that year at the age of 17.^[4] He outlived all four of his siblings by a number of years. He also far exceeded the life expectancy of a male tiger outside captivity.

As was the case with TOM I in 1992, TOM II was cremated. The university's Athletic Department made arrangements for a permanent exhibit to honor all previous and future TOMs in the Athletics Hall of Fame which was to be constructed at the corner of Southern and Normal.^[5]

University of Memphis president Shirley Raines received pressure from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to cease using a live mascot shortly before TOM III was acquired.^[6]

TOM III

TOM III is the current mascot for the Memphis Tigers. He was born on August 31, 2008 to Vixie and Thor at the Wisconsin Big Cat Rescue & Educational Center in Rock Springs, Wisconsin.^[7] TOM III and his two brothers were the result of an unexpected pregnancy at the cat sanctuary.^[8] He has two symmetric stripes that run lengthwise down the base of his tail.^[9]

References

↑ Greer, Jarvis (October 15, 2008). "Rest in Peace University Of Memphis Mascot TOM II". WMCTV.
1 2 "Live-Animal Mascots Get an 'F'". People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Retrieved December 28, 2011.
↑ "TOM III - Official U of M Mascot". gotigersgo.com. Retrieved December 28, 2011.
↑ "After recent cancer diagnosis, TOM II dies". ESPN. October 15, 2008.
↑ "U of M mascot dies: TOM II had represented school since 1992". The Commercial Appeal. October 15, 2008.
↑ Schifani, Adam (October 22, 2008). "PETA says please: Begs University not to purchase a new live mascot". The Daily Helmsman.
↑ "Tiger Photo Galley [sic]". Wisconsin Big Cat Rescue. Retrieved December 28, 2011.
↑ "TOM III to debut before Tigers vs. UCF game". Big Cat News. November 18, 2008.
↑ "TOM III To Celebrate 1st Birthday at FanFest Saturday". gotigersgo.com. August 27, 2009. Retrieved December 28, 2011.

External links

The University of Memphis

Academics	University of Memphis University of Memphis, School of Law FedEx Institute of Technology Advanced Distributed Learning Workforce Co-Lab

Athletics	Memphis Tigers Men's Basketball Women's Basketball Football University of Memphis Stadium List of Memphis athletes FedEx Park Baseball Field, University of Memphis Mike Rose Soccer Complex University of Memphis Tennis Complex Elma Roane Fieldhouse

Journals	Southern Journal of Philosophy University of Memphis Law Review

Life	The Daily Helmsman Mighty Sound of the South FedEx Forum Art Museum at the University of Memphis WUMR TOM II TOM III Memphis Pom

Memphis Tigers football

Venues	Crump Stadium (1934–1964) Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium (1965–present)

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Arkansas State: Paint Bucket Bowl Louisville Ole Miss Southern Miss: Black and Blue Bowl

Culture & lore	Pouncer TOM (mascot) "Go Tigers Go" Mighty Sound of the South Miami Beach Brawl

People	Head coaches NFL draftees

Seasons	1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1922 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Memphis Tigers men's basketball

Venues	Various locations (1920–1929) Memorial Fieldhouse (1929–1966) Mid-South Coliseum (1966–1991) Pyramid Arena (1991–2004) FedExForum (2004–present)

Rivalries	Louisville

Culture & lore	Pouncer Newby's TOM (mascot) "Go Tigers Go" Mighty Sound of the South

People	Head coaches All-Americans NBA players Retired jerseys

Seasons	1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1942–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16

NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

Live animal mascots in college sports

The American	Jonathan (Connecticut) Shasta (Houston) TOM (Memphis) Peruna (SMU)

ACC	Osceola and Renegade (Florida State)

Big 12	Judge (Baylor) Boomer and Sooner (Oklahoma) Bullet (Oklahoma State) Bevo (Texas)

Big East	Butler Blue (Butler) Jack the Bulldog (Georgetown)

Conference USA	Tech (Louisiana Tech)

Ivy League	Handsome Dan (Yale)

Mountain West	CAM the Ram (Colorado State)

Pac-12	Ralphie the Buffalo (Colorado) Traveler (Southern California)

SEC	Tusk (Arkansas) War Eagle (Auburn) Uga (Georgia) Blue (Kentucky) Mike the Tiger (LSU) Bully (Mississippi State) Sir Big Spur (South Carolina) Smokey (Tennessee) Reveille (Texas A&M)

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