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UVA 101: What is a 'Hoo?
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One thing that makes college sports so much fun is the rich tradition at every school of unique nicknames, mascots, and activities that set every school apart from the others. The University of Texas is famous for its "Hook 'em Horns" hand sign. In Atlanta they sing of being a "Ramblin' Wreck From Georgia Tech" and have a well-known car to match. And at UVa? We're the 'Hoos!
Walk around the Grounds at UVa and it's hard to miss that fact. You might see posters advertising the next concert by the a cappella groups 'Hoos in Treble or the Hullabahoos. There once was a (rather short-lived) mascot named Li'l 'Hoo. And if you go to a football or basketball game, you're sure to hear the crowd cheer, "Go, 'Hoos, Go!"; in fact, you'll almost never hear the crowd use the team's official nickname of Cavaliers. But what is a 'Hoo? Like those little Russian dolls-within-a-doll, let's take this apart step by step.
First, "'Hoos" is, naturally, short for "Wahoos." But that doesn't help. There's a fish called the wahoo, and it's sometimes said that this fish's supposed ability to drink twice its own weight every day reflects the, ah, partying ways of the student body, and this is the reason for the nickname. This may or may not be true of the fish, but the nickname predates that legend, and the fish is not the reason. We'll have to dig deeper and look inside another doll.
The truth is that "Wahoo(s)" has its roots in the Good Ol' Song. Like the nickname "Hoos", the Good Ol' Song has no official capacity. It is not the alma mater, nor is it the fight song (though it's commonly mistaken for the latter, as it's typically played at times during a football game when other schools would play their fight song.) The Good Ol' Song is, however, the most well-known to all 'Hoos, and it's the one you'll hear most prominently at a football game. The tune is familiar - Auld Lang Syne - and the first two lines of the song are as follows:
"The Good Old Song of Wah-hoo-wah,
We'll sing it o'er and o'er...."
In addition, the song is nearly always accompanied by a cheer that follows the last line:
"Wah-hoo-wah! Wah-hoo-wah! Uni-V, Virgin-i-a!
Hoo-ray-ray! Hoo-ray-ray! Ray! Ray! U-V-A!"
It naturally follows that the nickname "Wahoos", shortened to "'Hoos", has its roots in the song. The Good Ol' Song was written in 1893 and quickly became the school's most popular song.
But wait. There's a doll inside this one, too. Why would a student body decide to chant "Wah-hoo-wah"?
The chant originated at Dartmouth College - yes, the one in the Ivy League - as an "Indian yell." Dartmouth school lore is inextricably linked to Native Americans, and for a long time, the school's teams were unofficially known as the Indians. The chant was adopted in 1879 as a way of advancing school pride and honoring the school's Indian heritage. Somehow, between 1879 and 1893, the chant caught on at UVa and lost its "Indian" connotations in the process. Due to the "Indian" connotations, the chant has long since died out at Dartmouth as that school removed all Native American symbology from daily college life, and it's now associated solely with UVa.
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