Chasing Rabbits
By Aaron Hovind
As I was in the process of my weekly digging through the University Archives, I stumbled upon this:
Most every photo in the archives is provided with some context, and this was no exception. Underneath, it read, Rabbits Athletic Club: Two men prepare to toss kegs during Rabbits Olympic Day, 1975–1976
…
My first thought was, what on earth is the Rabbits Athletic Club? It is not every day one finds a photo of two guys readying to sling kegs across a field in front of a crowd. I was curious, and I quickly Google searched “Rabbits Athletic Club and Marquette” which only led to two relevant links — each of which just directed me to Marquette’s archives website for student organizations. Although there was no other additional information of the Rabbits Athletic Club to be found online, there were, however, two beige folders marked R.A.C. in Raynor Library’s Department of Special Collections and University Archives (shout-out you guys, y’all rock) filled to the brim with years of information.
I was about to take a trip, well, down the rabbit hole if you will.
In these folders, I found various letters, registration forms, police reports, warnings, posters, and pictures all pertaining to the Rabbits from the mid 1960s through the early 1980s. All I really wanted to know was, who were the Rabbits? So I sifted through each document until I came across an R.A.C. constitution. In their own words,
“The Rabbits Athletic Club shall strive to further the athletic atmosphere at Marquette University, promote greater participation in athletics, insure general interest in athletics, and avail our services for University use in athletics, specifically the intramural program.”
What followed next in the constitution was a list of positions and rules each member would have to follow. No exact information was given about their actions, other than reiterating some variation of the phrase, “…to further the athletic atmosphere.”
There were few documents that highlighted their specific purpose to the university, but after some digging, I decided there were three reasons why the Rabbits existed:
1. To fund raise for intramural/club sports
2. To help organize intramural sports/events
3. To party
Yes, after searching through the patchy, but colorful history of the Rabbits, I found that most of the documents pertaining to them involved some sort of fundraiser, and a follow up letter to them from the President, Dean, or a police officer. Most often, these fundraisers took form as parties at rented out hotels, or smaller functions on campus, with the promise of the raised money going towards club sports and the intramural program. However, these events were only documented in the archives in the first place through a series of warnings, letters, and complaints.
Most of the delinquent instances are minor — you know, sneaking quarter kegs of beer into school buildings, jumping into hotel pools with champagne glasses in hand, or bickering with the President about the usage of MU Stadium, and provide a quick snapshot of the antics (both good and bad) MU students were a part of in the 60s and 70s. Their most documented celebration, Rabbits Olympic Day, is evidence of that.
The marquee event consisted of teams of 10 students competing against each other in frivolous games including, a greased pig chase, quarter barrel keg toss, and a tug-of-war over a pit of mud. Spectators were more than welcome to watch and treat themselves to “food, soft drinks, and GOLDEN REFRESHMENTS” — an unspecified beverage (The drinking age was 18 before 1984, mind you).
Despite some misdemeanor hiccups in their fundraising plans, no clear purpose what their service to the school was, and a lot of tom-foolery, the Rabbits did provide the student body with fun. Obviously, the definition and rules for fun have changed since the 1970s, but it is nice to take a look at student life and the undeniable joy they had because of the Rabbits — See for yourself.
Photos courtesy of Marquette’s University Archives, which can be searched through and found here.
