When Sam Houston Normal Institute was changed to Sam Houston State in 1923 they decided to retire the previous athletic nickname of Normals. The team adopted the new name Bearkats, spelled interchangably as Bearcats and Bear Cats in those early days of the new name. A bearkat is a mythical creature and was thought to be a "good fighting name at the time" by 1920s SHSU student-athlete Reed Lindsey.
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