20 NCAA Mascots!
Ramses
University of North Carolina
Ramses made his first appearance at the North Carolina vs. Virginia Military Institute basketball game on November 8, 1924. The idea for this mascot came from head cheerleader Vic Huggins. When he thought of this idea, he asked the Athletic Business Manager, Charlie Woollen for approval. Once the idea was approve, Woollen gave the team the $25 to have the sheep shipped from Texas to North Carolina.
Nowadays, there are two different versions of the mascot for the University of North Carolina. The first one that you see is the costume mascot, Ramses. Underneath that costume, you will find the chosen male cheerleader. The other version of the mascot is the real thing! A live Horned Dorset Sheep makes his appearance at local sporting events!
Sparty
Michigan State University
Sparty was first introduced to MSU fans during the 1989 football season. Sparty is depicted as a muscular male Spartan warrior or athlete that is dressed in a stylized Greek costume.
Sparty is usually depicted as a muscular male Spartan warrior/athlete dressed in stylized Greek costume.
Sparty is big and strong, garnering the honor of being voted “Buffest Mascot” by Muscle and Fitness Magazine. Despite his massive size, Sparty can be quite expressive; in fact, Sparty is also a three time national champion mascot, three in the last four years, competing at the Universal Cheer Association Nationals Competition at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. In January 2004, Sparty became the first Big Ten mascot to claim the national title, and in 2005, he defended his national championship, beating Goldy Gopher and Bucky Badger in the finals. After finishing third in the 2006 competition, Sparty reclaimed the national championship in 2007. He also participates in events across the country including the NCAA Hall of Champions: Mascot Mania.
Purdue Pete
Purdue University
Purdue Pete is not the official mascot of Purdue. Pete is associated as being Purdue's representative on and off the field. Pete was first designed for a logo by the bookstore in 1940. Later in 1956, he became the actual mascot at a pep rally. The hammer that Purdue Pete carries is an icon that signifies him as a boiler maker.
When it comes to selecting the student who will be Purdue Pete, they must pass drug tests, physicals and maintain a 2.0 GPA. This one mascot actually consists of 4 different students. The reason for this is so that 1 student is not responsible for all the events he must attend as Purdue Pete. The guy inside the mascot is on average 6ft tall and 160 lbs. Also, the students who become Purdue Pete are require to go to study hall about four hours a week so that the Athletic Department can keep track of their studies.
Hairy Dawg
University of Georgia
Hairy Dawg is the costumed mascot of the University of Georgia Bulldogs. Hairy Dawg was designed and created by Tom Sapp, a 1969 graduate of UGA and the founder of Real Characters, Inc. The mascot's first appearance was at the 1980 Sugar Bowl, but his first appearance in Sanford Stadium was not until the Georgia Bulldogs' 1981 victory against the Tennessee Volunteers.
In 2007, Hairy Dawg was a semifinalist in the Capitol One National Mascot of the Year Contest. He was also one of the 12 contenders for this title in 2003 and 2004.
Hey Reb!
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Hey Reb! is the official mascot of UNLV Rebels athletics. Hey Reb! made his first debut in 1983 as a long mustached, musket carrying cartoon rebel. Hey Reb! was given a make over in 1997 becoming more muscular and taking away his musket. Hey Reb! is the third mascot in the Rebels short athletic history. The first mascot was a black and white anthropomorphized wolf in Confederate gray uniform, named Beauregard and was used as a jab at the mascot of in-state rival the University of Nevada, Reno which had a similar mascot but in Union uniform. Beauregard would stay until the 1970s, when a group of black athletes voiced their displeasure with the mascot. The athletic department introduced a colonial-like rebel as the logo and mascot and there was consideration towards rebranding the athletic teams at UNLV the Minutemen, until Hey Reb! was introduced.
Fighting Duck
University of Oregon
The mascot of the University of Oregon is the fighting duck. The popular Disney character Donald Duck has been the mascot for decades, thanks to a handshake agreement made between then-Athletic Director Leo Harris and Walt Disney in 1947. The mascot has been challenged more than a few times in its lifetime. The first came in 1966 when Walt Disney died and the company realized there was no formal contract written for the use of Donald’s image. A formal contract was written up in 1973.
Potential heirs "Mallard Drake" and "Mandrake" challenged Donald’s position in 1978 and 2003 respectively, but both were unpopular and discontinued. In 2007, the mascot was suspended one football game for fighting.
Judge and Bruiser
Baylor University
Judge is the name of the live bear mascots, while Bruiser is the costumed version of the mascot.
Although Baylor adopted Bears as its official nickname in 1914, it was not until the 1920s that a real bear became the University's mascot. The first live bear was made available by the troops of the 107th Engineers, a unit of the 32nd Infantry Division stationed at Camp MacArthur in Waco during World War I. The bear, name Ted, made his first appearance at the Baylor-Texas A&M football game in 1917. Since then, the use of live bears at Baylor football games has become a popular fixture. The live bears now live on campus at the Bill and Eva Williams Bear Habitat.
In recent years, Bruiser has also become a fixture on campus, as the costumed mascot of the team. He is usually seen wearing a variation of a team uniform.
Fighting Leprechaun
University of Notre Dame
The Leprechaun wasn’t always the official mascot of Notre Dame. The team was represented by a series of Irish terrier dogs. The first, named Brick Top Shuan-Rhu was donated by Charles Otis of Cleveland and was presented to head coach Knute Rockne at a football game against Pennsylvania on November 8, 1930.
The Leprechaun that we have come to know about today officially became the mascot in 1965. The costume was designed by sports artist Theodore W. Drake in 1964 for only $50. The live version of the Leprechaun is a student, chosen annually at tryouts, dresses in a cutaway green suit and Irish country hat.
Texas Hook 'Em
University of Texas
HOOK ‘Em is the costumed mascot of The University of Texas at Austin’s athletics teams. He can be seen on the sidelines of a basketball game at the Frank Erwin Center. Hook ‘Em became the mascot with a little inspiration from the famous “Hook ‘Em” hand signal and slogan.
The gesture is meant to approximate the shape of the head and horns of the university mascot, the Texas longhorn steer Bevo. The sign is made by extending the index and pinky fingers while grasping the second and third fingers with the thumb. The arm is usually extended, but the sign can also be given with the arm bent at the elbow. It is one of the most recognized hand signals of all American universities.
Joe and Josephine Bruin
University of California-Los Angeles
Since Berkeley was known as both the Bear and the Bruins, the Los Angeles branch of the University of California just decided to use the name Bruins. So in 1928, a few days after the student council approved the new mascot name, the school changed its name from Cub Californian to the Daily Bruin. It is also important for the Bruins fans to know that these mascots were real live bears during the early years. Nevertheless, even if the bears were trained, many believed that they were not safe around many fans and spectators, thus in the 1960s, the university decided to simply use student mascots. During the 1967 football games, Joe Bruin was joined by Josephine Bruin, the first woman mascot.
Up to the present, you will see both Joe and Josephine Bruin sashaying, dancing, and jumping their hearts out during sports events where the school is involved.
Big Red
Cornell University
Cornell does not have an official mascot, however the bear has long been a symbol of Cornell Athletics. In 1915, a live bear named Touchdown first appeared at football games to represent Cornell. However, in 1939 the live bear was replaced by a costume version.
The current version, which appears at many of Cornell's sporting events, is a brown bear costume that is worn by an undergraduate student. The mascot also has a nickname of “Touchdown”.
Flash the Eagle
Kent State University
Flash the Eagle is not the only mascot that Kent St has had. Over the years there has been a golden retriever, a cartoon character named Grog; a palomino pony and masked rider and a masked figure wielding lightning bolts in each had. In 1985, the university finally settled on the golden eagle. For the next 10 years, a falcon from Western Pennsylvania brought an eagle to each football game.
In January of 2008, Kent St officials decided to find a new gold eagle. They wanted to connect the bird to their branding campaign, a long-term effect to build positive associations to the University. The new golden eagles comes to campus events courtesy of Back to the Wild, a nonprofit wildlife rehabilitation center in Castalia. The university also uses a costume mascot. It shares the same name as the live eagle; Flash the Eagle!
Flash the Eagle
Kent State University
Flash the Eagle is not the only mascot that Kent St has had. Over the years there has been a golden retriever, a cartoon character named Grog; a palomino pony and masked rider and a masked figure wielding lightning bolts in each had. In 1985, the university finally settled on the golden eagle. For the next 10 years, a falcon from Western Pennsylvania brought an eagle to each football game.
In January of 2008, Kent St officials decided to find a new gold eagle. They wanted to connect the bird to their branding campaign, a long-term effect to build positive associations to the University. The new golden eagles comes to campus events courtesy of Back to the Wild, a nonprofit wildlife rehabilitation center in Castalia. The university also uses a costume mascot. It shares the same name as the live eagle; Flash the Eagle!