“Well, the socks have spoken,” said Zack Pierce, a Fox Sports writer.

It may not have had the gravity of the NCAA Final Four, but the Blue Hose of Presbyterian College have shown they are fiercely proud of their team nickname and managed to create a groundswell effort to clinch the title in the Fox Sports College Basketball Nickname Bracket. The Blue Hose won the championship with a resounding 74 percent of more than 11,800 votes in the final matchup.

PC entered the tournament as the fifth seed in the “Strange and Quirky Region” against the Horned Frogs. After defeating the Billikens, No. 4 in the region with 80 percent of the vote and Shockers, No. 1 in the region with 71 percent, the Blue Hose challenged the second-seeded Ragin’ Cajuns.

A last minute surge of support allowed the Blue Hose to win with 51 percent of the vote. The win against the Ragin’ Cajuns came as an upset as they were leading against PC with only 48 hours to go in voting. The Blue Hose then entered the Final Four and took on the tournament’s overall No. 1 seed, the Fighting Camels. The Blue Hose fans continued their strong support allowing PC to win with 56 percent of the vote.

“I’m thrilled to hear that we won,” said Amanda Dowdle ’14, gift and stewardship coordinator. “After voting myself and recruiting everyone I know to vote, I am proud of all the alumni, PC, and Clinton communities rallying together to help us win the championship.”

The Blue Hose nickname began in the 1900s when sports writers referred to the Presbyterian College athletic teams as the “Blue Stockings” because of the blue socks they wore. Writers used the terms stockings and hose interchangeably over the years.

“Stockings” were often shortened to “hose” in headlines, and blue-stocking Presbyterians refer to Presbyterians with strong puritan leanings.

The PC student body adopted the nickname as the official school nickname in the 1950s, and today it also refers to the fierce Scottish warriors and the College’s Scottish heritage.

As Pierce wrote, “Just embrace the socks.” It’s a great time to be a Blue Hose.

Presbyterian College is located on a striking 240-acre campus in Clinton, between Columbia and Greenville, S.C. Offering challenging academics and a culture of honor, ethics, and service that prepares students to be leaders in communities, PC offers its students the benefit of engaging with an exceptional faculty who take individual interest in their students’ well-being, both personally and in the classroom. The Presbyterian College School of Pharmacy is dedicated to the ideals of leadership, honor to the profession, and service to the community. For more information about Presbyterian College, visit www.presby.edu.