'Mustangs, Mariners and Moose' is latest in Pio's series on college nicknames, mascots
Author is 1984 graduate of Monmouth College, member of its M Club Hall of Fame
Monmouth, Ill. (10/18/2024) — Chris Pio is nothing if not thorough.
The former Monmouth College star athlete, championship-winning coach and detail-driven sports information director has completed - almost - an ambitious project he started many years ago.
With the release of his latest book, Mustangs, Mariners and Moose: Nicknames and Mascots of the NAIA and Other Non-NCAA Groups, Pio has now cornered the market on four-year colleges.
The fourth volume in his series features all 239 schools in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, plus almost 100 more from the United States Collegiate Athletic Association, the National Christian College Athletic Association, and the Association of Christian College Athletics.
Mustangs, Mariners and Moose joins books Pio has written on the three divisions of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. In 2021, he published the first book in his series, Gryphons, Gorloks and Gusties, focusing on NCAA Division III, the level that the 1984 graduate competed in as a Monmouth athlete and coach.
His latest collection of stories completes the description of every four-year athletic program in the nation. His second book, Gorillas, Gators and Greyhounds, published in 2022, is a definitive look at NCAA Division II schools. A year later, Governors, Gauchos and Gaels covered NCAA Division I programs.
The wacky state of Kansas
"The NAIA has actually been around longer than the NCAA," said Pio. "It's just as strong a group of schools, which I found out while doing the fourth book. That group is as fiercely to their colleagues as the NCAA folks are. They've got just as many neat stories and histories and rivalries that exist within the NCAA."
Outside of the alliterative nicknames he chose for the title, Pio came across some other interesting ones.
"There's a school in Kansas - Bethel College - and they're the Threshers because of the history of the school, back to the Russian Mennonites that settled in central Kansas and made their living harvesting wheat - threshing wheat - that's what you call the process," said Pio. "They used to do that by dragging a big stone behind a horse. So their mascot is an anthropomorphic threshing stone with gears for arms and hands and feet. Threshy the threshing stone represents the Bethel College Threshers."
Another Kansas school, Southwestern College, goes by the Moundbuilders and has a black cat mascot, Jinx.
"There's backstory behind that, too, but you'll have to read the book to find out," said Pio.
How it all started
During his eight years as Monmouth's SID, "One of the things I made up my mind to do was to create the same type of record book at Monmouth that the NCAA used," said Pio, a self-proclaimed lifelong sports fan. "I went through 100 years of game results and archived stories and put together the record books."
Pio went a step farther, also writing a few historical pages, including the origin of athletics on campus and the Bronze Turkey trophy, awarded to the winner of the Monmouth-Knox football game. The record books he launched are now a staple on the Fighting Scots website.
"Along with all of that, I thought it would be neat to include a section on the history of the Fighting Scots nickname," said Pio, noting that 1927 graduate Harold Hermann deserves the credit for steering his alma mater away from Bulldogs and embracing its Scotch Presbyterian heritage. "That was my first one, and that rolled around in my head for years and years. Then the opportunity arose to expand that. It's grown from a singular curiosity about Monmouth Scots to cover about 1,500 schools across the country."
Even more content
Now that the four volumes are behind him, Pio is branching out on the topic, launching a website and a blog.
The website, www.nicknamesandmascots.com, shares the origin story of each book and allows the reader to connect directly to order any of the books or the entire set. An online blog also features a unique nickname or mascot every week - Monmouth, of course, was first in that lineup - and readers are encouraged to submit questions, stories or suggestions about their favorite school, team or name.
Pio has coached cross country and track and field for 27 years, with the first half of that career coming at his alma mater. He was inducted into Monmouth's M Club Hall of Fame in 2022.
"It's no surprise that Chris has successfully merged his passion for collegiate sports information with his intensive attention to detail," said Chris Graham, the commissioner of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, of what he called "a remarkably well-summarized, historical record."
When he's not working on his nicknames and mascots series, Pio serves as an athletic event announcer and sports official. His PA resume features three national track and field meets and the 2024 NAIA men's volleyball tournament - held in his new hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa - as well as regional and conference championship events. His passion for running has taken him to 13 marathons, including four Bostons.
Just because Pio has closed the book on four-year colleges doesn't mean there aren't more nicknames and mascots to explore. Volume 5 in his series will add junior colleges to the mix, which he'll combine with the senior colleges for a listing of more than 2,000 schools.
"It's currently in progress and scheduled for release by the Christmas holiday season," said Pio, who can be reached for questions or book orders at cpio4262@gmail.com.
It's a subject matter that hits close to home, no matter where home is.
"Intercollegiate sports is just woven into the fabric of the country," said Pio. "It's just as much a part of American culture as anything."
Media Attachments
Chris Pio is pictured during this year's Homecoming weekend at Monmouth College, speaking at the induction ceremony for the Fraternity and Sorority Life Hall of Fame.
