Tom the tiger

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TOM II (commonly referred to as Tom the tiger) is the live Bengal Tiger mascot of the University of Memphis. He is housed at a private facility and is cared for by the Tiger Guard, a committee of the Highland Hundred football boosters' group. As a project of the Highland Hundred, no public or University funds are used to provide for TOM’s needs, and no University resources are required in his care.

For over 30 years, the sideline mascot for The University of Memphis has been the Bengal Tiger. TOM II, the current Tiger mascot, attends all Tiger Football home games, and he can also be found at many other University events throughout the year as a powerful and majestic symbol of Tigers Athletics. TOM II travels in style in a custom-designed, climate-controlled trailer, always with police escort.

The first Tiger, TOM, was procured by the Highland Hundred Football Boosters in 1972 and served the UofM faithfully for nearly 20 years until passing away in February of 1992. TOM came to the University on November 9, 1972, when the Tiger Cub was placed in a dog kennel in Michigan City, Indiana, and put on a Memphis-bound flight via Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. He arrived in Memphis at 3:00 AM, and C. Cleveland Drennon, President of the Highland Hundred, approved a check for $1,500 to purchase the animal. That morning, TOM was taken to Athletic Director Billy ‘Spook’ Murphy’s office for a press conference. The Highland Hundred officially presented TOM to the University in a ceremony at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium on November 11, 1972, during a Football game against the University of Cincinnati.

TOM had initially been named ‘Shane’ at the suggestion of the breeder’s daughter. Once in Memphis, though, a contest was held to name the mascot. More than 2,500 entries were submitted to a committee chaired by Judge Harry Pierotti, including colorful monikers like Spook, Sampson, Goliath, Bengo, Sultan, Sahib, Big Cat, Ptah, Touchdown, Sonny, Shiloh, and even Bengie Wougie Bengal Boy from Tennessee. The list was ultimately reduced to two choices, Shane, and TOM, which stands for Tigers Of Memphis. TOM won.

During his first few months in Memphis, TOM was housed by Highland Hundred member Bill Proctor in his garage, which the Club had redecorated, and was closely guarded by Proctor’s hound dog. TOM would ultimately reside at the Memphis Zoo under the care of trainer Louie Bell, where he was known as one of the Zoo’s most popular attractions. TOM grew to be the largest Bengal Tiger ever documented in captivity, weighing over 600 pounds.

As TOM grew older, the decision was made by the Highland Hundred to keep the Tiger Tradition alive by securing a new Tiger to be raised as TOM II. In the fall of 1991, Highland Hundred President Ray Daniels and President-Elect Bobby Wharton received TOM II as a gift from Tom and Carolyn Atchison of Florence, Alabama. The little Tiger had been born on July 11 of that year, and, as TOM had been, he was presented by the Highland Hundred to the University in a ceremony at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium on November 16, 1991, during a Football game against the University of Alabama.

TOM II has spent his life housed and cared for in private facilities provided and maintained by the Highland Hundred Tiger Guard. After a few months spent living in the home of William ‘Nickie’ Nixon, TOM moved to a custom-designed Tiger House constructed by the Highland Hundred at St. Nick’s Farm and Zoological Park in the Memphis suburb of Collierville. With a price tag of over $300,000, raised entirely by the Tiger Guard, the habitat was widely regarded as the finest private facility in the nation, surpassing that of many zoos. In this comfortable home, TOM II matured into a magnificent animal weighing more than 500 pounds.

TOM II occupied the Collierville facility happily for nearly 14 years, but growth and development in the Collierville area eventually reached St. Nick’s Farm, and a move to a new Tiger House became necessary. In the summer of 2005, the Tiger Guard, led by Bobby Wharton, began construction of a new habitat in a rural area just south of Memphis on land offered by long-time Tiger Fans Jeff and Mary Kuntz. The new facility was designed as a virtual copy of the original facility but includes many upgrades that improve TOM’s comfort and safety. With two swimming pools, a dedicated water well, a climate controlled den box, a veterinary facility, and multiple redundant security features, the new Tiger House mimics the original Collierville facility as one of the nation’s finest. Built with the future in mind, this habitat will house not only TOM II, but future Tiger mascots as well.

As one of only two Universities in America with a live Tiger mascot, The University of Memphis is unique in its Tiger Tradition.