the "jennies" nickname for central missouri's women's athletic teams was officially adopted in february, 1974 after the school's student newspaper, the muleskinner, offered a prize of $50 in a contest to choose a nickname for the women's athletic teams. cynthia almaguer of knob noster, missouri, class of 1974, was chosen winner from 34 entries. almaguer told the contest judges, "the reason i picked the name is because of the obvious feminine kinship of the jenny to our mule mascot. it is a fact that a mule is a descendant of a female donkey – the jenny."