I hold two degrees from one of my state's two major universities and another from the other. This creates awkwardness during football season but is tolerable during the remainder of the year.
I have chosen to describe this state of being associated with two colleges as being "bialumnal." Will it catch on?
Father Steve has two
almas matres.
So, you are a ... a couskie? A husgar?
Yeah, like somebody would just blend together a couple of sport team nicknames. What a stupid idea.
Many years ago, when Dan Evans was the governor of the State of Washington, he came to Washington State University for a weekend which included a football game. The governor was very much the populist and spent a lot of time on campus just schmoozing with students, faculty and staff. I got to chat with him and noticed his tie. On the side facing front, one could see alternating stripes of crimson and grey. The tie was reversible. On the other side, the one facing his chest, the stripes were purple and gold. No wonder he served as governor for two terms, was elected to the Senate of the United States and was the President of the Evergreen State College. You gotta be smart to have a tie like that.
somebody would just blend together a couple of sport team nicknames. What a stupid idea. 
has there been a thread of silly team names?
I suppose I could LIU...
Michigan State University Spartans
Ohio State Buckeyes
Jheem, that went whoosh over my head. Can you splain please?
Sorry 'bout that. Here's what was going through my noggin while I typed: (a) the children's book Heather Has Two Mommies; (b) the plural of the term alma mater, literally 'nourishing mother' in Latin, but used to refer to the college or university that one had attended.
Michigan State University Spartans
Ohio State Buckeyes
Sparkeyes and Buctans
- or -
Spuckeyes and Bartans
- or -
Sparkans and Bucteyes
- or -
Spucteyes and Barkans
Spuckeyes!
Since 1972, the athletic teams of Scottsdale (Arizona) Community College have been known as the Artichokes, a name selected by the student body as a protest against spending money on student athletics.
The Pomona-Pitzer (California) team name is the Sage Hens.
At Connecticut College, they are the Camels.
The University of California at Irvine's mascot is the Anteater.
And at the University of California at Santa Cruz, sports teams are known as the Banana Slugs.
bialumnal is a good way to describe what you are, but I'm more interested in how you behave sitting in the stands as you watch the 2 teams compete.
Since you have 2 degrees from one U and one from the other, it might be seen as judicious to root for the latter team in the 1st quarter, the former in the 2nd and 3rd, and then make yourself absent for the 4th, leaving the contest to be decided on its own merits without benefit of your unstinting support for either team.
Grapho raises an interesting point. I think of myself as a Cougar (WSU alum) rather than a Husky (UW alum), probably because I did my undergraduate work at the prior. I suspect that one most commonly forms that sort of alumnal attachment to the college or university where one first matriculates.
Yep, Padre, you can hardly say that you have three degrees of freedom when it comes to university sports ...
Another suggestion:
Come to your senses and realize that paying any attention to football is a waste of effort and time. After all, it's a combination of the two worst elements of our western society: violence and meetings.
Jheem, j'accusative!
Now I *get it.
paying any attention to football is a waste of effort and time. After all, it's a combination of the two worst elements of our western society: violence and meetings.
Hot dogs and beer?
I also had a vague notion that alma mater refered to one's undergraduate institution. Anybody else?
Well, Bertie Wooster was wont to refer to 'the dear old Alma Mater', and my impression is that he was referring to his old school (public, of course, but never specifically identified) not to his university.
The thinking that led to the term Alma Mater is apparent, but I am intrigued by the similarity to ‘matriculation’ which: (borrowing largely from Wikipedia to save my sprained thumb – a whole other story) refers to the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by acquiring the required prior qualifications.
In the ancient English universities of Oxford and Cambridge, the term is used for the ceremony at which new students are entered into the register (in Latin matricula) of the university. From that point on they become members of the university.
In England and Wales until the advent of the General Certificate of Education (GCE), Matriculation (usually abbreviated "matric") was the examination taken to earn the right to enter university. Unlike the GCE exam, it had a number of compulsory subjects and all had to be passed at a single sitting.
In Australia, Matriculation is currently the name of a university entrance examination.
As an aside, the UK gov. is considering reintroducing a matriculation type of examination, such as is already in use in parts of the EC.
Makes sense. Yet another great academic word (from Cambridge) is the tripos. The Greek word is where we get tripod and refers to a three legged stool on which those examined sat.