Northern Kentucky University is going dancing for the third time since moving to Division I, riding on a high horse with the Horizon League Championship title and a 22-12 record under its belt.
The Norse have their work cut out for them as they gear up to face top-seeded Houston in a first-round fight on Thursday.
But fighting for victory is in their spirit, with one of the most terrifying Division I mascots in the game leading the charge: Victor E. Viking.
Pieces of the Early Middle Ages have found themselves over the hill in Highland Heights, Kentucky.
The Norse are not only the nickname of Northern Kentucky University, but a group of ancient and modern people living in the Nordic countries and speaking one of the North Germanic languages.
A lot of people know them more commonly as vikings.
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The Norse are one of the more distinct nicknames in the NCAA and aren't one often talked about. Even if they don't make it past round one, it's worth a look into the backstory, which is what Sporting News has done here.
What is a Norseman?
Norsemen, also commonly referred to as Norse, were a North Germanic ethnolinguistic group residing in what are known as the Nordic countries, which can also be found partially in modern-day Scandinavia.
The term Norse stems from the early medieval period in connection with the raids and monastic plundering by Norsemen in the British Isles. Viking is a common term for attacking Norsemen, but it was not used in that sense at the time. Instead, the word simply meant 'pirate' in Old Norse and Old English. It first appeared in the early 19th century and echoes terms meaning Northman.
NKU adopted "Norsemen" as its nickname in 1971 after a vote run by the student newspaper, and women's teams were known as the Norsewomen or Lady Norse from the time they began competing in 1974 through 2000, when all university teams began competing simply as the Norse.
What are the Nordic countries?
The Nordic countries are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic Ocean. They are not to be confused with Scandinavia, as there are slight factors separating the two, causing a lot of linguistic and geographical confusion among non-residents.
In modern day, the Nordic countries include Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, as well as the autonomous territories of the Faroe Islands and Greenland, and the autonomous region of Åland.
They have a lot in common when it comes to their way of life, their rich history, their religion and their social structure. Modern descendants of Norsemen are the Danes, Icelanders, Faroe Islanders, Norwegians and Swedes, now generally referred to as Scandinavians.
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What is Northern Kentucky's mascot?
Northern Kentucky Norse are led by mascot Victor E. Viking.
He's exactly what he sounds like. After undergoing a transition in 2016 to make him appear softer to the audience, Victor is a blonde viking with a thick mustache, gold helmet with horns – also known as a Viksø helmet – a gold sword and silver shield as battle armor. His head is slimmer, eyes are smaller and he now dons an open-mouthed smile.
The previous edition had him with more raggedy hair, two braids donning the sides of his face. He also had angry, glaring eyes and a scowl on his features, making him look menacing.
His upgrade came shortly after a logo upgrade that same year, after ESPN named him the ninth-scariest NCAA mascot.
