UToledo Traditions Tour

The University Seal & Centennial Mall- (“Centennial Mall” on campus map) The University Seal sits in the center of Centennial Mall. There used to be a school myth that stepping on the University seal will cause you to fail your next exam. So in 2004, the seal was elevated as a symbol of the University’s dedication to academic excellence, not allowing any Rocket — past, present or future — the opportunity to step on this revered monument. Walk to the right around the seal to signify your desire to take the “right path” in your journey of life and knowledge. For a little extra luck on your next exam, give it a quick kiss!

On the seal you will see the UT motto in Spanish, which translates to “Guide to the Present, Moulder of the Future.” You can also see the year the university was founded, 1872, and the year in which we merged with the Medical College of , 2006.

As for Centennial Mall, you may find yourself wondering if there is any reasoning behind the layout of the foot paths. Well in 1979, after the blizzard of '78, Geography students laid out the paths based on an image of the foot traffic through the snow.

The Lancelot Thompson Student Union & Edison Memorial Fountain- (“SU” on campus map) Welcome to the Lancelot Thompson Student Union, the hub of student activity on campus. The Student Union is named for the late trailblazing professor and administrator who devoted his career to student success. It’s appropriate then that the building houses many student service offices dedicated to your success, such as Career Services, the Office of Multicultural Student Success, and the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership. There are also many places to grab a bite to eat and areas to relax between classes. Many student organizations host their meetings and events here as well, so you are definitely going to spend some time in this building!

The Edison Memorial Fountain was gifted to UToledo by the Toledo Edison company in 1979 as a celebration of the centennial of light. It has been the place of some student pranks, like adding soap while it is drained in the winter, leading to a bubble bath when the fountain is turned back on in the spring (not that we are suggesting anything). It is also a favorite location for post-graduation photos and has this quote from John P. Williamson, UToledo alumni and former CEO of Toledo Edison: “As Thomas E. Edison brought the light of electricity to mankind, this university brings the light of knowledge to its scholars.” University Hall & the Bell Tower- (“UH” on campus map) University Hall was the first building on the UToledo main campus. It was completed in 1931, along with the second building the Field House, after 11 months of work by 400 men. The structural design is Collegiate Gothic, which was common amongst universities in Europe and provided the style for many of the buildings on campus. The then president of the university, Henry J. Doermann, hoped that the design would inspire students.

The Bell Tower you see in the center of the building can be heard throughout the day playing the UToledo Alma mater and fight song. It is 156 steps to the top of the 206 foot bell tower and if you climbed all the way to the top you would find 4 gargoyles and some resident falcons.

The Memorial Field House- (“FH” on campus map) The Memorial Field House, the second building completed on the main campus, was built in 1931 as a gymnasium for UT’s athletic events. It hosted Rocket basketball games, numerous commencements, lectures by subject experts, and concerts, including artists The Mamas & the Papas and The Temptations. In 2006, replaced the field house as the venue for similar events and this building became an academic building, housing classrooms, an auditorium, faculty offices, and the departments of English and Foreign Languages.

The Spirit Rock- (found in “The Flatlands” on campus map) Painting the spirit rock is a student favorite UToledo tradition. This huge rock was donated in 1997 by the Nicholson Concrete and Supply Company as a symbol of campus spirit. You can take part in the tradition by spray painting the rock during twilight hours! It can get pretty competitive on some nights, as many try to be the last person or organization to paint the rock before dawn arrives and campus gets to see their artwork. There are so many layers of spray paint on that rock, no one really knows how big it was originally!

The Glass Bowl Stadium- (“GB” on campus map) Welcome to the Glass bowl, the home of the Rockets football team! The initial structure was built over the course of one year by a 300 man crew as part of the Works Progress Administration. Bulldozers and other machinery were not available at the time, so the crew used manual labor to remove over 13,000 square yards of earth. The initial structure, completed in 1937, was called University Stadium and seated 8,000. It included a press box and the two stone towers you see on the north side. These towers used to serve as locker rooms and housing for 12 of the players. During World War II, the stadium became vacant and fell into disrepair as football came to a halt. But in 1946, a local engineer came up with the idea to use glass as a key element of renovation, leading to the name The Glass Bowl, in honor of Toledo’s primary industry.

Over the years, the Glass Bowl has continued to see many improvements, expansions, and increases in seating capacity to meet the demands of the dedicated Rockets Fans! Today, the stadium can seat over 26,000 fans and since it opened in 1937, the Rockets have won more than 68% of the games played in the stadium. Hopefully YOU will become a part of this winning tradition and attend a Rockets football game!

The Rocket- (Found on East side of “LM” on campus map) UToledo did not have a nickname until the football team played the then powerful Carnegie Tech in 1923. Pittsburgh sportswriters learned that there was no nickname and encouraged a UToledo student working in the press box to come up with one. The student called the team “Skyrockets” based on their strong performance against a superior team. The sportswriters then shortened the name to “Rockets.”

This Rocket, procured by UToledo in 1961, sits on the north end of the Glass Bowl. Weighing in at one-ton, it is a genuine U.S. Army rocket and is aimed toward the 50 yard line of the BGSU football stadium.

While you are here, check out this east blockhouse of the Glass Bowl. During football games, you can hear the boom of a cannon sound from the top each time the Rockets score. That boom comes from a real, Civil-War era cannon that belongs to the UToledo chapter of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity who received the cannon when a member bartered his cannon for his fraternity dues.

John F. Savage Arena- (“SV” on campus map) The John F. Savage Arena is the home of the UToledo men’s and women’s basketball teams and volleyball! The arena was built in 1976 and has undergone several renovations, the last of which added a jumbo video scoreboard! Savage Arena can seat over 7,000 Rocket Fanatics! It is also the host to concerts and many UToledo traditional events, such as RockeTHON, the Children’s Miracle Network student fundraiser, and Song Fest, the song and dance group competition that is the second longest running tradition at UToledo.

There are two important songs to learn while here at UToledo: the Alma mater titled “Fair Toledo” and the fight song “U of Toledo.” “Fair Toledo” was written by amateur songwriter Gilbert Mohr and his wife Jean Strout in 1959, winning the UT Alma Mater Song Contest sponsored by Student Senate and the Alumni Association. The fight song is titled “U of Toledo” and was written in 1932 by Dave Connelly, a past UT athletic director and baseball coach. You can hear both throughout the year at athletic events, pep rally’s, and traditional campus events.