 Over the next decade the school expanded academic facilities , athletics and student life , as enrollment grew to over 900 students . On October 28 , 1927 , Ivan " Doc " Lake , a BGSU graduate and sports editor of the Daily Sentinel @-@ Tribune , established the nickname “ Falcons " . Lake thought the falcon was a fitting nickname because the falcon is a small but powerful bird of prey , and like the athletes , goes through extensive preparations and training . He also thought the nickname fit with the school 's colors . Prior to Lake 's creation of the nickname , sports writers used various others , including : “ B.G. <unk> , ” “ Teachers , ” and the “ B.G. <unk> " . The school achieved the status of college in 1929 when the Emmons @-@ Hanna Bill changed renamed it to Bowling Green State College ( <unk> ) . At the same time , the college expanded its curriculum through the addition of the College of Liberal Arts , now known as the College of Arts and Sciences . 
