Furman University athletes have always worn purple and white. However, the mascots they played under have changed over the years. The earliest teams were referred to as the “Hornets,” a name they shared with the student newspaper.
In the 1920s, the football team began to be referred to as the “Purple Hurricane.” The basketball team was also occasionally called the “Purple Paladins.” Other Furman teams continued to be known as the Hornets until 1961, when the student body voted to make the Paladin the sole mascot of Furman University athletics.
The belt buckle pictured above was donated to Special Collections & Archives by Tierce Riley Machen, Jr. (’47). It is part of a collection called Furman University Memorabilia, 1826-2013.