Popular University & College Team Mascots
Eagles, Bears, Bulldogs, and Other Football & Sports Mascot Picks
Nov 18, 2008
When it comes to mascots, some colleges and universities are more creative than others. A few schools have truly weird college mascots, like Delta State University's Flying Okra, or UC Santa Cruz's Flying Banana Slug. However, many schools use similar animals, themes, and characters to celebrate their fighting spirit.
Here are some of the most common types of college mascots at schools across America.
Eagle Mascots
Since the eagle is the national bird -- and since eagles truly are creatures you don't want to mess with -- it's no wonder that eagles are such a popular mascot choice. Here are some of the many colleges and universities that have an eagle mascot.
- Archibald Eagle – The University of Southern Indiana
- Awesome Eagle – Tennessee Tech University
- Azul the Eagle – Florida Gulf Coast University
- Baldwin the Eagle – Boston College
- Big Stuff the Eagle – Winthop University
- Clawed Z. Eagle – American University
- Eli the Eagle – Oral Roberts University
- Ellsworth the Golden Eagle – SUNY Brockport
- Golden Eagle – Marquette University
- Gus the Eagle –Georgia Southern University
- MoHarv the Golden Eagle – The University of Charleston
- Monty the Eagle – Niagara University
- Scrappy the Eagle – University of North Texas
- Sparky the Eagle – Liberty University
- Swoop the Eagle – Emory University and Eastern Washington University
- War Eagle VI – Auburn University
Bear Mascots
Bears make versatile mascots. They're both ferocious and cuddly, which gives teams lots of options. For example, Brown University has two bears – tough Bruno the brown bear (appropriately) and cute little Cubby the bear, who appeals to kids. While most mascot bears are your standard North American brown or black variety, there are a few exceptions – like Polar Bear, the mascot for Bowdoin College. In the past, a few campuses kept live bears mascots of campus– like the Coast Guard Academy -- but this practice has been largely discontinued.
Here are some of the bears that grace the college mascot world.
- Avalanche the Golden Bear – Kutztown University
- Bananas the Black Bear – University of Maine
- Boomer the Bear – Missouri State University
- Bruiser the Bear – Baylor University and Belmont University
- Bruno and Cubby the Bears – Brown University
- Klaws da Bear – The University of Northern Colorado
- Monty the Grizzly Bear – The University of Montana
- Objee the Bear – The Coast Guard Academy
- Oski the Bear – University of California, Berkeley
- Polar Bear – Bowdoin College
- Scotty the Bear – University of California, Riverside
- Touchdown (also known as the Big Red Bear) – Cornell University
- Victor E. Bear – The University of Central Arkansas
Lion Mascots, Tiger Mascots, and Other Ferocious Animals
The "creatures you wouldn't want to encounter in the wild" theme is a common one for college and university mascots as well. Lions and tigers dominate the list, but other creatures have a presence too – like Cam the Ram of Colorado State University, who's actually a bighorn sheep. In a few cases, schools have live mascots. Here's some mascots inspired by a variety of ferocious animals.
- Aubie the Tiger – Auburn University
- Cam the Ram – Colorado State University (live and costumed)
- Iggy the Lion – Loyola Marymount University
- LeeRoy the Tiger – Trinity University
- Leo and Una the Lions – The University of North Alabama (live)
- Mike the Tiger – Louisiana State University (live and costumed)
- The Nittany Lion – Penn State
- Power Cat the Tiger –University of the Pacific
- Pouncer the Tiger – The University of Memphis
- Rameses the Ram – University of North Carolina (live and costumed)
- Rhody the Ram – University of Rhode Island
- Roar-ee the Lion – Columbia University
- Rocky II the Lion – Slippery Rock University
- Rodney the Ram – Virginia Commonwealth University
- Roomie the Lion – Southeastern Louisiana University
- The Tiger – Princeton University and Clemson University
- Victor E. Bull – The University of Rochester
Bulldog Mascots
There aren't too many dog mascots – with the exception of the bulldog. These fierce little pooches have more than their fair share of representation in the mascot world. In many cases, schools actually have a real bulldog, as that's a whole lot easier to keep around than a bear or a lion. Here are some of America's bulldog mascots.
- Ben the Bulldog – McPherson College
- Bully the Bulldog – Mississippi State
- Butler Blue II the Bulldog – Butler State University
- Champ the Bulldog – Montana State University
- Handsome Dan – Yale University
- Jack the Bulldog –Georgetown University
- Lulu and Mac T. Bulldog – Gardner-Webb University
- Spike Q. Gonzaga the Bulldog – Gonzaga University
- Tech the Bulldog – Louisiana Tech University
- Timeout the Bulldog – Fresno State University
- Uga the Bulldog – The University of Georgia
Common Mascot Types
Not every school is creative when it comes to naming a mascot, as can be seen by the influx of bears, eagles, lions, and other creatures who are commonly seen cheering on their college or university sports teams. Instead, tried and true favorites are a tradition at many schools, and they wouldn't have it any other way.
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