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Mission & History

About Midland University

Founded in 1883, Midland University is a private liberal arts college located in the heart of Fremont, Nebraska, just 20 minutes from Omaha. More than 1,550 students from across the map attend Midland University. With a 14:1 student-to-faculty ratio and an average class size of 18, students have full access to professors who know them by name. Midland University provides a close-knit community for faculty, staff, students, friends, and alumni!

Midland University’s Mission

Midland University inspires people to learn and lead in the world with purpose.


Midland University’s Vision

To provide relevant, innovative, and dynamic learning experiences for our students by working from the marketplace back to ensure their career readiness. We strive every day to be relentlessly relevant.


Midland’s History

Midland University’s history is rooted in multiple institutions, each of which has left its mark on the school and on its mascot. Midland College was first located in Atchison, Kansas, where it was founded by German and Swedish immigrants.  The first mascot they selected was the “Tigers,” along with the official colors orange and black. The college was relocated to Fremont in 1919, and the mascot was changed to the “Warriors” in recognition of a theme tied more closely to the history of the founders.

Luther College later merged with Midland College in 1962 to create Midland Lutheran College. The Luther College “Vikings” sported blue as their school color prior to the merge. For many years, the Warrior mascot was personified through the imagery of a Native American Warrior. This was recognized to be a misfit, however, as Midland’s past was actually routed in European ancestry, and just the name “Warriors” was used without any additional icon. 

Feeling the absence of a living, breathing figure that appropriately represented the school on and off the field, various warrior types were used in short spurts ranging from “Melvin the Midland Monster” from the early 1990s to Leonidas, a more recent Spartan Warrior.

In 2010, amid Midland Lutheran College’s refounding as Midland University, a new icon was created to reflect Midland’s Nordic history, incorporating both the Luther College Viking blue and the Midland Warrior orange and black. This new Nordic Warrior provides a connection to Midland’s heritage while offering a modern symbol of the strength and determination Midland University student-athletes display as Warriors.

Throughout Midland University’s proud history, many changes have taken place. Whether you are connected to Midland from the past, the present, or in the years to come, one thing remains the same. The heart of a Warrior is present in all who call Midland their own.

View historical photos in the Midland history gallery.

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