Founded in 1888, it is the oldest continuously published student newspaper in Tennessee.

[2][3][4] The Hustler was established in the fall of 1888 to report on campus events, competing with the earlier school newspaper, The Observer.

[2][4] Initially published by the Calumet Club from 1888 to 1898 and then by the Vanderbilt Athletic Association from 1889 to 1917, The Hustler has been student-run since 1917, under the guidance of a publication board now called Vanderbilt Student Communications, Inc.[3] Due to fires and vandalism, the earliest surviving issue of The Hustler is a single issue from 1890, recently donated to the Special Collections and University Archives by an alumnus' family.

In the 1960s, Lamar Alexander served as its editor, and called for open admission of African Americans on campus.

[6] Some other greats in Hustler sports history have been Skip Bayless, Buster Olney, John (Joe Bob Briggs) Bloom, Don (Hustlin') Hemke, Irv Muchnick, Rich White, Walt Patter, Kevin Cuneo, George Masterson, and Bo Carter.