TOP 10 TRADITIONS AT MIAMI
Honor these traditions and create some of your own over the next four years!
1. Rub a turtle’s head on the Tri-Delt Sundial for good luck on your next exam.
2. Sidestep the University Seal at the Hub to avoid bad luck on your next exam.
3. Visit the Freedom Summer Memorial on Western Campus.
4. Celebrate Family Weekend each year with family and friends.
5. Walk around trees and make sure everyone in your group passes on the same side.
6. Eat a Tuffy’s Toasted Roll in Pulley Diner – there’s nothing like it!
7. Participate in Homecoming with the “Homecoming Huddle” pep rally/carnival.
8. Live in a named, off-campus house.
9. Kiss your sweetheart at midnight under the Upham Arch.
10. Play broomball at Goggin – one of Miami’s favorite pastimes!
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
The Tri-Delt Sundial
Similar to the seal, students also perpetuate a popular superstition connected to the sundial in Central Quad, which was donated by Delta Delta Delta sorority. The sundial, which tells the correct time four times a year, is propped on copper turtles. Tradition says rubbing a turtle’s head before an exam ensures good luck.
The University Seal, located on “The Hub”
In the center of campus, bears Miami’s Latin motto of “Prodesse quam conspici.” Translated, the phrase means “to accomplish without being conspicuous.” According to legend, anyone who steps on the seal is mocking the university’s ideals and will therefore be punished by failing his/her next exam. Winter will go by with nary a footstep in the snow over that seal! There is still no consensus as to whether the same rules apply to the Great Seal within the Armstrong Student Center, but who wants to take that chance?
The Upham Arch
The Upham Hall Arch is a popular student meeting spot by day, but it is said sweethearts who kiss under the arch at midnight will eventually marry and become a “Miami Merger.” Miami’s percentage of students/alumni marrying other students/alumni is a whopping 14 percent. In 2022, the Miami University Alumni Association mailed more than 14,000 Miami Merger valentines, an annual MUAA tradition honoring Miami’s Merger couples.
The Friendship Trees
Miami University is known for having a beautiful campus with many different kinds of trees spread throughout. If you’re walking with a group of friends on campus and the group passes a tree, everyone must pass on the same side. If the group splits to pass on different sides of the tree, tradition is that their friendship will falter.
Tuffy’s Toasted Rolls
In 1929, Myron Timothy “Tuffy” Potter opened his own business, Tuffy’s Place, a popular campus gathering spot for generations of Miami students until it closed in 1973. The standard fare included Coke, coffee, hamburgers, ice cream, and Tuffy’s specialty: Toasted Rolls. A combination of sugared cinnamon rolls with a special icing and warmed on a unique grill, a variation of Tuffy’s Toasted Rolls are still sold at Pulley Diner in the Armstrong Student Center.
Miami Mergers
Perhaps the university’s most well-known tradition, Miami Mergers, is a term for Miami students who marry other Miami students. Approximately 14% of all Miami alumni are married to another alum. Each year, Miami mails a valentine to merger couples and highlights the matches in university publications. Even merchandise is available for mergers, and wedding locations on campus give booking privileges to the couples.
Cradle of Coaches
Throughout the sports world, Miami has the unique reputation as the “Cradle of Coaches.” The university has launched the careers of numerous famous professional and college football coaches, including Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, and Paul Brown. At last count, more than 100 Miami graduates were active in coaching or administrative work in the professional and collegiate levels.
Charter Day Ball
A formal affair, the Charter Day Ball takes place once every three years to celebrate the chartering of Miami on Feb. 17, 1809. This event has been a tradition at the university for the past 60 years. It brings together students, faculty, alumni, and the entire Oxford community. The event is filled with live music, entertainment, food, and, of course, dancingMiami University Student Foundation
The Miami University Student Foundation
(MUSF) sponsors major campus programs and raises tens of thousands of dollars annually for undergraduate scholarships – all while strengthening the link between current students and alumni. Every year, MUSF’s endowment distributes eight $2,500 scholarships to undergraduate students. MUSF members gain invaluable networking and professional opportunities as they join a family of thousands of passionate MUSF alumni. MUSF was founded at Miami in 1972 and remains one of the university’s most active groups. MUSF is also the only student organization sponsored directly by the Miami University Alumni Association. Learn more about becoming involved in MUSF at MUSF.org/apply or MiamiOH.edu/MUSF