Tulane has been on a historic run in recent years which culminated in the Green Wave making their first appearance in the College Football Playoff in 2025. This has prompted plenty of curiosity on where Tulane is located, the school’s Green Wave nickname and the university that Jon Sumrall is leaving to be the Florida head coach.
Tulane is located in the heart of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the Uptown neighborhood and near the Garden District. The historic campus has witnessed Tulane’s rise as one of the top programs in the Group of Six.
Tulane has a current enrollment of 14,378 students. The university was founded in 1834 and has a long football history as the resilient program bounced back in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Here’s what you need to know about Tulane.
What Does Tulane’s Green Wave Nickname Mean?
Unlike many college football programs, Tulane does not have the school’s location in the name. Additionally, the team’s Green Wave nickname has also prompted plenty of confusion among fans. The meaning of the Green Wave name dates back to 1920 when a newspaper editor referred to Tulane as “The Rolling Green Wave.”
“From 1893 to 1919, the athletic teams of Tulane were known as the Olive and Blue,” Tulane detailed on the school’s official website. “In 1919, the Tulane Weekly, one of Tulane’s many student newspapers at the time, began calling the football team the Greenbacks.
“On Oct. 20, 1920, Earl Sparling, the editor of the Tulane Hullabaloo, wrote a football song which was printed in the newspaper. The song was titled ‘The Rolling Green Wave.’ Although the name was not immediately adopted, it began to receive acceptance. A month later, a report of the Tulane-Mississippi A&M game in the Hullabaloo referred to the team as the Green Wave,” the school added.
“By the end of the season, the Hullabaloo was using the term Green Wave to refer to all Tulane athletic teams, as were many daily papers, although as late as 1923, the name Greenbacks was still in use.”
Tulane’s Name Comes From Paul Tulane, Who Donated More Than $1 Million to Start the University in 1884
Tulane gets its name from Paul Tulane, a wealthy New Jersey native who donated more than $1 million in 1884 to start the university. The businessman earned his fortune in New Orleans and wanted to pay tribute to the region.
Ahead of the program’s inaugural trip to the College Football Playoff, Sumrall has had the challenging task of balancing two jobs. Sumrall and his family donated $100,000 to Tulane following his departure to Florida.
“This is home in a lot of ways,” Sumrall told reporters regarding his donation. “My two oldest kids were born here. I’ve talked a lot about when you leave a place, that matters how you leave it just as much as how you enter it.
“I want to leave on good terms. And I want to be able to come back in 20 years and celebrate this team that’s won a championship already together and not be like, ‘Oh, the way he walked out the building was kind of questionable,’ Sumrall added.
“I want them to go, man, he did it the right way. And so, I want to see Tulane get better after I leave.”
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