Why did Syracuse get rid of Orangemen?

Written by Editorial Team | Last Updated: August 2026

Syracuse University officially retired the historical "Orangemen" and "Orangewomen" athletic monikers in favor of the gender-neutral "Orange" to promote inclusivity, modernization, and equality across all men's and women's varsity sports programs. University leadership and athletic administrators recognized that transitioning to a unified, gender-neutral brand better represented the entire student-athlete body while streamlining institutional marketing and embracing a progressive identity moving forward into modern collegiate athletics.

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