59 Fun Facts About College Mascot

Uga, the live mascot of the University of Georgia, has always been owned by which Savannah family?

The first Uga was a wedding present in 1956; deceased Ugas are entombed in a mausoleum at Sanford Stadium as fans chant 'Damn good dog'.

Bevo, the Texas Longhorn steer, gave the University of Texas what?

The profile of the horns also produced the 'Hook 'em Horns' hand sign; alumni chipped in $124 to buy the first steer in 1916.

Colorado's Ralphie the Buffalo is always what?

Females are smaller and calmer for the horseshoe run around Folsom Field; the current Ralphie, Brandy, is the seventh since 1967.

How did LSU students pay for the first Mike the Tiger in 1936?

The $750 bought a cub from the Little Rock Zoo, originally named Sheik and renamed for trainer Mike Chambers.

Where does Reveille, Texas A&M's mascot, sit in the Corps of Cadets hierarchy?

The Rough Collies are buried outside Kyle Field facing the scoreboard so they can still see the game.

Brutus, Ohio State's mascot since 1965, is an anthropomorphic what?

Students Ray Bourhis and Sally Huber lobbied for a mascot and the state tree's nut won.

Michigan State's teams were known as what before becoming the Spartans in 1925?

A naming contest picked 'Michigan Staters'; a sportswriter dug 'Spartans' out of the rejects and quietly started using it in 1926.

The Oregon Duck is based on Donald Duck under an agreement with whom?

Athletic director Leo Harris sealed it with a handshake in 1947; when Disney lawyers balked in the 1970s, Oregon produced a photo of Harris and Walt in matching Oregon Donald jackets.

What was the name of the live white duck that appeared at Oregon games in the 1920s?

Cartoons of Puddles started looking like Donald by 1940, which is how Disney got involved.

Western Kentucky's Big Red is best described as what?

Student Ralph Carey designed it in 1979; the Hilltoppers name comes from a campus 232 feet above the Barren River.

What kind of tree is the Stanford Tree?

It belongs to the band, not the university, which has no official mascot; the team name Cardinal is a colour, not a bird.

Stanford's teams were called what from 1930 until 1972?

Native American students and staff persuaded the president to drop the name and the Prince Lightfoot mascot in 1972.

Syracuse's mascot Otto is an anthropomorphic what?

He replaced the Saltine Warrior, a 'Native American' invented in a 1928 student-magazine hoax about an unearthed chief.

Wisconsin's teams took their animal name because the state's early lead miners did what?

A live badger proved too vicious and was replaced by a raccoon named Regdab, badger spelled backwards, before Bucky's costume debuted in 1949.

UC Santa Cruz students voted in 1986 to make what their official mascot?

The chancellor refused to honour the referendum, saying only athletes could pick; People magazine gave the slug a full page.

What was UC Santa Cruz's mascot before the slug won out?

The athletic director imposed it on the basketball club in 1972.

UC Irvine's original anteater design was based on what, despite the popular story?

Students chose the anteater in a 1965 campus election; Peter the Anteater's battle cry is 'Zot!'

Delta State University's unofficial mascot, embraced by students since the late 1980s, is what?

It wears boxing gloves; the official mascot is the rather tamer Statesman.

The Evergreen State College's Geoduck is what kind of animal?

The huge burrowing clam is native to Washington's Puget Sound; it is pronounced 'gooey-duck'.

Which school's teams are the Boll Weevils, with women's teams called the Cotton Blossoms?

They play in NCAA Division II's Great American Conference.

Chief Illiniwek gave his last official performance for the University of Illinois in which year?

The NCAA had listed him among 19 'hostile or abusive' mascots in 2005; the regalia was Sioux, not Illiniwek.

What pulls Oklahoma's Sooner Schooner across the field after a score?

Boomer and Sooner haul a scaled-down Conestoga wagon driven by the all-male RUF/NEKS spirit group.

Tennessee's live mascot Smokey is which breed?

The Pep Club held a contest in 1953 to find a hound; the winner howled at the crowd and won the job.

Auburn's teams are the Tigers, so what exactly is the school's famous two-word yell?

The university's line: 'We are the Tigers who say War Eagle.' A live golden eagle has been kept continuously since 1960.

Yale's Handsome Dan holds what distinction?

The first Handsome Dan won at Westminster and now sits stuffed in a glass case in the Payne Whitney gym.

Miami chose the ibis as its mascot in 1926 because, in folklore, the bird does what?

Sebastian the Ibis wears jersey number 0; the name came from the student yearbook, The Ibis.

What is Purdue's official mascot?

The truck-mounted Victorian locomotive is official; the hammer-wielding athletic mascot began as a bookstore logo in 1940.

Penn State's Nittany Lion was invented on the spot in 1907 by a student at which rival's campus?

H. D. Mason declared his lion would beat Princeton's tiger; the one-armed push-ups after touchdowns honour the lion's 'strong right arm'.

Arizona State students voted in 1946 to replace which animal with the Sun Devil?

Disney illustrator Berk Anthony drew Sparky two years later, and is rumoured to have given him Walt Disney's face.

Iowa State picked a cardinal costume because what was too hard to depict?

The Cyclones name dates to tornadoes that hit the area in 1898; Cy comes from the cardinal-and-gold colours.

SMU's mascot Peruna is named after what?

A black Shetland pony named Peruna has attended every SMU home game but one since 1932.

Navy's mascot Bill is which kind of animal?

The tradition began in 1893 with a goat named El Cid, a gift from officers of the USS New York; the breed later settled on Angora.

Alabama's elephant mascot Big Al traces to a 1930 sportswriter describing the team as what?

Everett Strupper's Atlanta Journal column about a rumble at the end of the quarter gave the Tide its 'Red Elephants' image.

Iowa State, Wisconsin's Bucky and which other famous mascot were all drawn by artist Art Evans in 1940?

Evans's Bucky drawing was first sold from Duffy's Book Store in Madison; Purdue's bookstore commissioned Pete the same year.

Where is Ohio State's Brutus?

He debuted in 1965 as a papier-mâché nut and has been redesigned many times since.

Georgia Tech's Buzz was created in 1972 and reflects what nickname for students?

John Heisman asked for the Yellow Jackets name in 1905; fans wore yellow jackets to games. The school later fought minor-league baseball's Salt Lake Buzz over the trademark.

The University of Akron's Zips take their name from what?

Zippy the kangaroo, adopted in 1953, is one of the few female mascots in college sports.

Maryland's Testudo is what kind of animal?

Coach and president Curley Byrd proposed it in 1932; Johns Hopkins students once stole the bronze statue and hauled it to their campus.

Nebraska's Herbie Husker is depicted as what?

He first appeared on a 1974 media guide cover; earlier unofficial mascots were walking ears of corn.

Which school's live mascot is a Rough Collie?

Every Reveille since the third has been a purebred Rough Collie; the first, in 1931, was a mixed-breed stray.

Georgia Tech's Ramblin' Wreck is what?

The white-and-gold sport coupe leads the football team onto the field.

Duke's Blue Devils are named after what?

The Chasseurs Alpins, 'les Diables Bleus', beat out Blue Titans, Blue Eagles and Royal Blazes on the shortlist.

What is Dartmouth's unofficial mascot, invented by a humour magazine in 2003?

The anthropomorphic beer keg filled the void left when the college abolished its Native American mascot in 1974.

Louisville chose the cardinal as its mascot because it is what?

Louie the Cardinal has represented the school since after 1913.

Delaware's mascot YoUDee is a what?

The Fighting Blue Hen is Delaware's state bird; the costumed version is joined by Baby Blue.

Minnesota's Goldy Gopher has won how many UCA Mascot National Championships?

2011, 2013, 2017 and 2018, across more than 1,000 appearances a year.

What is Rhode Island School of Design's notorious unofficial mascot?

It is exactly what it sounds like: a giant anthropomorphic penis, and it is a proud RISD tradition.

Washington State's Butch is what animal?

The cougar was adopted in 1919, and a live cub was presented to students in 1927.

Cal's Oski the Bear made his debut in 1941 at what event?

He is named after the Oski Yell.

Bevo's original name, when alumni shipped the first steer to Austin in 1916, was what?

Stephen Pinckney raised $124 from other alumni to buy him in the Panhandle.

Which university's costumed gamecock, Cocky, was inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame in 2026?

Sports Illustrated named him one of the greatest mascots in college football history for the sport's 150th anniversary in 2019.

Michigan State's original 1943 Sparty statue was cast in terra cotta for what reason?

Art professor Leonard D. Jungwirth designed it; a bronze replica replaced it outdoors in 2005 and the original moved inside.

What was Miami's first official mascot in 1950, before Sebastian the Ibis?

Sebastian was created in 1957 for a homecoming contest, and student John Stormont's first homemade ibis costume cost about $30.

What jersey number does Sebastian the Ibis wear at Miami Hurricanes games?

The ibis was picked in 1926 after students named the yearbook The Ibis; folklore says the bird is last to shelter before a hurricane and first to return.

USC's horse Traveler is billed as 'pure' white, but most Travelers have really been what?

Truly white horses are rare; Traveler IX became the ninth horse in the line, which appears at every home game in the LA Memorial Coliseum.

How many student handlers traditionally guide Ralphie the Buffalo around Folsom Field?

The bison can hit 25 mph; the roughly 15 Ralphie Handlers are varsity letter-winners who train more than 20 hours a week.

Which all-male spirit group maintains and drives Oklahoma's Sooner Schooner?

The wagon is a scaled-down Studebaker Conestoga; it debuted at Owen Field in 1964 and became the official mascot in 1980.

Which Disney illustrator designed Arizona State's Sparky the Sun Devil in 1948?

Two years earlier students had voted 819 to 196 to drop the Bulldog; a 2013 Disney-styled redesign was scrapped after fan backlash.

Georgia's costumed mascot Hairy Dawg made his first appearance at which postseason game?

Forbes ranks him third among America's top sports mascots; he shares duties with the live English bulldog Uga.