Frequent grunting was heard across University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s campus the past few weeks, especially in conversations relating to the school’s football team. While observers first assumed the grunts were uttered in frustration over the team’s 5-7 record, they soon realized the sound was actually a new nickname for the team.

Since the turn of the 20th century, UNL’s football team has been known as the Cornhuskers, but that long nickname was shortened to “Huskers.” In recent years, some students have deemed “Huskers” to be too long and have begun using the more streamlined, monosyllabic name “Skers.”

But now, it appears that even “Skers” is too much of a mouthful for today’s generation.

“Saying ‘Skers’ is just too old-fashioned,” said sophomore biology major Erica Lorenzo. “It’s so much easier and cooler to call the team the [grunts loudly].”

The DailyER spoke with senior marketing major Steve Paulsen, who claims to have invented the new name.

“I know people have only been saying ‘Skers’ for a few years now, but in today’s fast-paced world of social media and instant gratification, I felt like it needed an update,” he said. “So I started saying [grunts loudly] to my friends, and it caught on.”

When asked how to spell the new nickname, Paulsen responded, “Football emoji.”

While some fans have refused to accept the new nickname, UNL linguistics professor Bob Huddleston said the change was inevitable.

“This is just a natural step in the ongoing evolution of Nebraska football,” Huddleston explained. “Since the dawn of the Cornhuskers, fans have tried to simplify the name to maximize efficiency, and we may finally be approaching the limit.”
When asked if the name could ever get any shorter, Huddleston said, “I suppose that someday we could see a situation where the idea of Nebraska football is conveyed without making any noise at all. With the current rate of innovation in collegiate nicknames, that could happen as soon as next season.”