OSU's colors were first chosen in the late 1890s. The selection of orange and black was a tribute to a popular faculty member whose father was a Princeton University graduate. Students adopted Princeton's orange and black colors and some of the school's first athletic teams were referred to as the ''Tigers'' (same mascot as Princeton) in the early 1900s. The name of a current local pharmacy that was founded back then, “Tiger Drug,” still reflects those days.
