For those uninitiated in the ways of the Midwest, a buckeye is a type of tree that produces a hard seed also known as a "buckeye."
Buckeyes are mahogany in color with a white "eye" in the middle, hence the name.
Go Teams with Random Names!
Admittedly, the nickname "Buckeyes" has little significance for those outside of Ohio, but looking around, there seems to be a trend of this.
Indiana has the "Hoosiers," which are actually defined as natives of Indiana. Similarly, a "Tarheel" is a native of North Carolina.
And in my home state of Illinois, we have the "Fighting Illini," named after a Native American tribe.
But even these strange nicknames are not the weirdest of them all.
Youngstown State is the "Penguins." Akron has the "Zips."
And my personal favorite is the University of California-Santa Cruz.
How would you feel rooting for the "Fighting Banana Slugs?"