Until January of 2005, a athletic team nicknames were Indians (men) & Othakians (women). When a movement by Student Government, a Booster Club & a National Alumni Council, the nickname was changed to Redhawks. Consequently, the mascot so inherit being, called Rowdy Redhawk.

Notable Alumni
1960 Ken Iman center with NFL's Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams
1974 Linda Godwin NASA astronaut
1987 Cedric Kyles aka Cedric the Entertainer
2003 Willie Ponder wide receiver with NFL's New York Giants

A right-known figure associated by having a institution is probably radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh, who occurs as Cape Girardeau indigen & attended a university for a year prior to dropping out. [http://corner.nationalreview.com/05_10_02_corner-archive.asp#078733]