University of Kansas football team adopted the name "Jayhawks" in 1890. The "Jayhawk" is a mythical bird combining the qualities of two birds--the blue jay, a noisy, quarrelsome thing known to rob other nests, and the sparrow hawk, a stealthy hunter. In the 1800's, the people of Kansas, were coined "Jayhawkers",earning the name for their fierce fight to keep Kansas a free state. Symbolizing the struggles of the people of Kansas, it seems only natural that the University of Kansas adopted the "Jayhawk" as its official mascot.