Is it true the creator of Scooby Doo based the characters on the Five Colleges?

I have heard rumors that the creator of the Scooby Doo cartoon based the main characters on the Five Colleges - those 5 colleges in the western Massachusetts area: Amherst College, Mt. Holyoke College, Smith College, Hampshire College, and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

Here are the rumored pairings:



Fred: Amherst

Daphne - Smith

Velma - Mt. Holyoke (has a bit of a lesbian reputation...)

Shaggy - Hampshire (has a bit of an earthy-crunchy rep)

Scooby Doo - UMASS!



Do you think this is true, or an amazing co-inky-dink?

Is it true the creator of Scooby Doo based the characters on the Five Colleges?
It's an urban myth (albeit a very funny one).



This myth has been around for a while, and is debunked at snopes.com.



Usually, actually, Velma is Smith, and Daphne is Mt. Holyoke.



And the most compelling debunking fact, to my mind, is that Hampshire wasn't founded until 1970, and Scooby began in 1969.



http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/scoobyd...
Reply:YES! Smith is Velma! Report It
Reply:I heard that too, when I went to Smith, but I have since heard it was a urban legend. Oh, and Smith usually claims Velma - she was the smart one. :) You know what they say - Smith to bed, Mt. Holyoke to web. So that would be Daphne for Mt. Holyoke.