UVA is called “Wahoos” (or “’Hoos”) because of a 19th‑century sports taunt that students ended up proudly adopting as their own nickname.

Quick Scoop: Why “Wahoos”?

1. It started as a baseball insult

In the 1890s, during a heated baseball rivalry between the University of Virginia and Washington & Lee, opposing fans supposedly shouted that the Virginia players and fans were “a bunch of Wahoos.”

UVA students liked the energy of the name and gradually reclaimed it as a badge of pride rather than an insult.

2. The fish (and drinking) legend

There’s a popular campus legend that a “wahoo” is a type of fish that can drink twice its body weight, and UVA students jokingly compare themselves to it.

This fish story isn’t really the official origin, but it’s become part of the fun, slightly rowdy lore around the nickname.

3. From “Wahoos” to “’Hoos”

By around the 1940s, “Wahoos” was widely used to describe UVA students and anything related to them.

Over time, students shortened it to “’Hoos,” which is why you see cheers like “Go Hoos!” and hear both words used interchangeably today.

4. Part of UVA culture and lingo

Today, “Wahoos” is an unofficial mascot term that captures school spirit, community identity, and long‑running traditions like cheers of “Wa‑Hoo‑Wa” at games.

New students quickly learn that if you’re at UVA and love the orange and blue, you’re a Wahoo—whether or not you know the full origin story yet.

TL;DR:
UVA is called “Wahoos” because rival fans in the 1890s started calling UVA people “Wahoos” at baseball games, UVA students embraced the nickname, a fish‑and‑drinking legend attached itself to it, and over time it evolved into the beloved “Wahoos/’Hoos” identity used all over Grounds today.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.