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In 1984, the federal drinking age was changed from 18 to 21 (In Virginia, it changed in July 1985.) While this change didn’t seem to have much effect in the 1980s, it is possible that this was part of the reason Devil-Goat Day lost popularity in the 1990s. That was not the only major change happening in the mid-80s.

Though it’s (probably) less important than the federal drinking age, the mid-80s also saw a rise in debates about Mary Washington College’s mascot. From 1978 to 1986, MWC’s mascot was the Blue Tide. In the 1985-86 academic year, MWC had a debate on what the school mascot should be, and a vote was held.¹ The contest was between the Eagles (which won in the end,) several options that were military related (including the bayonets), or the Devil-Goats.²

This would have extended the annual tradition of Devil-Goat Day to become the visual manifestation of the college. However, the Eagles won out, and the Eagles have been the mascot of MWC/UMW ever since.³

(This analysis comes from the sources available to us during the process of the Devil-Goat Day Team’s research.)

Field Games!

1. William Crawley, University of Mary Washington : A Centennial History, 1908-2008, 358. ↩︎
2. Crawley, University of Mary Washington : A Centennial History, 1908-2008, 358. ↩︎
3. Simpson Library, “Name Change,” Simpson Library, https://library.umw.edu/c.php?g=1213729&p=8889866. ↩︎

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