In 1975, Saint Mary's began to form intercollegiate varsity sports. They did not, however, begin 'playing' until 1977 when the tennis team played to an 8-1 NAIA match victory. It was there that the College competitors unveiled new team t-shirts with "Belles" emblazoned across the front!

Still, the question comes to mind, how did we become the Belles?

Though no one remembers exactly when, the nickname can be remembered from the late-1960's. It quite possibly could have been taken from the 1945 motion picture, "The Bells of Saint Mary's." The College already had an official song, called the "Saint Mary's College Song" (copyrighted in 1922), but College archivists remember the students always singing "The Bells of Saint Mary's" song from the movie. As well, the school's literary magazine was already called Chimes, a fitting coincidence with the Belles theme.

Not until the mid-1970's did a mascot for the College become a necessity. Saint Mary's began intercollegiate competition in 1975, remarkably, without a nickname or mascot for those two years before that tennis match which was the first athletic event at the 'new' Angela Athletic Facility.

A campus-wide contest had been created to help name a mascot for the College and its athletic teams. Such names as Angels, Golddiggers, Saints, Swans, Centurians, Sky Hawks and nearly thirty others competed with Belles in a vote for a mascot identity. Belles won out, and the rest is history.

Almost...

In 1995 there was a vote put forth by the student body to decide on keeping or scrapping the Belles nickname. Once again, Belles was the majority winner and now the College can rest easy.

As so many seniors have said to each other....Belles forever.