All of the NCAA March Madness Mascots, Explained | March Madness Mascots
March Madness is back, and with it comes its lesser known cousin Mascot Fever. The following post contains the most complete information on every NCAA mascot in the tournament. Every mascot has been thoroughly researched, and we present our findings to you here:
![]()
Vilanova University Wildcats
Mascot:Will D. Cat
The Wildcats have been the official mascot of Villanova since 1926 when, after a school-wide contest was held, Edward Hunsinger, a former all-American defensive end from Notre Dame (at the time the assistant coach of the football team), came up with “Wildcats”. The name stuck, and nearly 90 years later, Vilanova’s mascot is still a particular type of Wildcat, the Bobcat, which is only found in the Southwestern United States, nowhere near Pennsylvania. Up until 1950, Vilanova used a live bobcat to represent their teams; however, due to training problems as well as adaptability to the cold climate, Vilanova switched to a costumed mascot after Count Villian II (as he was known) passed away. Will D. Cat was chosen as the name of the new costumed mascot.
University of Virginia Cavaliers
Mascot: CavMan
There is a surprising lack of information available online about the origins of CavMan, the official mascot of the Cavaliers. According to UVA Magazine, the Virginia Cavalier came about through an ad in the Washington Post in 1933 that showed a swash buckling Cavalier and promised the scores of the next day’s game would be printed in the paper.
University of Oklahoma Sooners
Mascot: Sooner Schooner Wagon
Oklahoma’s Sooner Schooner wagon is modelled after the Conestoga Wagons that brought the first settlers to Oklahoma. The wagon is pulled by two white ponies called Boomer and Sooner. Despite the first wagon and pony team being donated to the university in 1965, the Sooner Schooner wagon didn’t become the official wagon of the Sooners until 1980.
University of Louisville Cardinals
Mascot: The Cardinal Bird
According to the Louisville website, the Cardinal Bird was chosen as the school’s official mascot sometime after 1913 (vague, much?) because Kentucky’s state bird is the Cardinal.
University of Northern Iowa Panthers
Mascot: TC Panther
In 1931, University of Northern Iowa held a contest to determine the school’s mascot. The costumed version, nicknamed TC (The Cat) didn’t make his debut until over 50 years later. In 2010, under the pressure of growing popularity, UNI revealed their female mascot, named TK (The Kitten).
Providence College Friars
Mascot: Friar Dom
Frequently called “The Creepiest Mascot in College Sports”, Friar Dom has been around since 1953. Before that, Providence College used a Dalmation named “Friar of What-Ho”. Friar Dom has become famous for his half-court shots as well as his SportsCenter commercials.
Michigan State University Spartans
Mascot: Sparty
While Michigan State changed their team name from Aggies to Spartans in 1925, Sparty didn’t appear on the sidelines until 1989. He became a huge hit with fans, and has appeared on SportsCenter commercials, as well as winning the award for the NCAA’s Best Mascot several times.
North Carolina State University WolfPack
Mascot: Mr. and Ms. Wuf
The Wolfpack became the official team name of North Carolina State University in 1921 after an anonymous letter referred to the school’s football team as “unruly as a pack of wolves”. Despite the writer probably not meaning that as a compliment, the name stuck. However, during World War II, the German’s used the term “Wolfpack” to refer to their submarines. With the obvious negative connotations of having a school named after a German submarine, the Chancellor at the time asked the students to consider renaming. The students rallied against the chancellor to keep the name WolfPack, and even constructed a giant mechancial wolf and placed it on the football field in retalation. Mr. and Ms. Wuf, the costumed mascots, first made their appearance in the 1970s.
Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge Tigers
Mascot: Mike the Tiger
Louisiana State University is one of the few schools that has both a live and costumed mascot. Mike the Tiger, the live one that is, first came to the school in 1936. Today, Mike the Tiger VI fulfill’s the original Mike’s role. It’s unclear when the costumed mascot came into being.
University of Georgia Bulldogs
Mascot: Uga
There have been six Ugas representing the University of Georgia since the original Uga made her first appearance in 1956. Every Uga has descended from the same line of English Bulldogs. Hairy Dawg is the costumed version of Uga.
Boise State University Broncos
Mascot: Buster Bronco
Unfortunately, not much is known about Buster Bronco except that he first came into being in 1932.
University of Dayton Flyers
Mascot: Rudy Flyer
The University of Dayton hasn’t really released any official information on where Rudy Flyer came from or when he originated; however, there are rumors that he is named after the Wright Brothers, who called Dayton home, and that his first name came from taking the University of Dayton’s initials and smashing them together (UD), and then figuring out what to put around it to create a name. But that’s all just conjecture.
University of Wyoming Cowboys
Mascot: Pistol Pete
Not to be confused with New Mexico State’s Pistol Pete, or Oklahoma State’s Pistol Pete. Other than that, there’s no information available on the mascot’s history, etc.
University of California at Irvine Anteaters
Mascot: Peter the Anteater
The first recorded use of Peter the Anteater was in 1965, while the first costumed use came in 1980. Supposedly, the Anteater was chosen for its originality from a student-made list of possibilities.
University of New York at Albany Great Danes
Mascot: Damein, The Great Dane, Lil’ D
The Great Dane came into being in 1965, replacing the previously used University of New York at Albany Penguins. In 2003, Lil D’ came along to help The Great Dane out at sporting events and working with children.
Belmont University Bruins
Mascot: Bruiser the Bruin
Despite three different pages on Belmont University’s website about Bruiser the Bruins, (once as a professor, once as a student, and once as the mascot), Belmont provides no information on where Bruiser the Bruin originates from or what his story is.
Lafayette College Leopards
Mascot: The Leopard
The origin of The Leopard goes all the way back to 1924, when a student council meeting decided the animal would represent Lafayette College’s athletic teams at all events. Surprisingly, the first costume for the mascot was real leopard skin (yikes!).
Duke University Blue Devils
Mascot: The Blue Devil
The Blue Devils are named after a battilion of French troops that fought in the Alps during World War I. Other than that, it’s not clear when the costumed mascot made his first appearance.
Gonzaga University Bulldogs
Mascot: Spike the Bulldog
As seems to often be the case, the school’s mascot was unintentionally decided by a journalist, who in 1921 said that the football team fought “like bulldogs”. Of course, the name stuck, and in 1980, the live dog was replaced by a costumed mascot.
Iowa State University Cyclones
Mascot: Cy the Cardinal
Cy the Cardinal was chosen, largely because it’s too damn difficult to accurately reprsent a cyclone in costume form. The cardinal was chosen to fit the school’s colors of red and gold. The first costumed mascot made his appearance in 1945.
Georgetown University Hoyas
Mascot: Jack the Bulldog
Jack the Bulldog has been the name of five live bulldogs that have represented Georgetown University at athletic events since 1962. A costumed mascot took over in 1977 to meet the growing popularitt fo Georgetown’s university programs.
University of Utah Utes
Mascot: Swoop
With the permission of the Ute tribal council, University of Utah introduced Swoop as a costumed mascot in 1996.
Southern Methodist University Mustangs
Mascot: Peruna
Peruna, a black Shetland pony that represents the Southern Methodist University Mustangs, first appeared in 1932. As far as I could find, the Mustangs have never been represented by a costumed mascot.
University of Iowa Hawkeyes
Mascot: Herky the Hawk
Herky the Hawk’s first incarnation was in a cartoon in 1948, and he was first seen on the sidelines in 1959. There are actually two different Herkys – one for football and one for basketball.
San Diego State University Aztecs
Mascot: Actec Warrior
In the fal of 1924, the school newspaper asked for suggestions for a new nickname for the school’s athletic teams. Feeling that it was representative of a Southwestern image that the school wanted to cultivate, the school chose the Aztecs. Nevertheless, it wasn’t until 1941 that the Montezuma, as he was originally called first appeared. In 2000, the school updated his image and changed the name to the Aztec Warrior.
St. John’s University Red Storm
Mascot: Johnny the Thunderbird
The modern incarnation of Johnny the Thunderbird came about in 1994 by a student vote, but before that, the legendary Redman cheered on the St. John’s Red Storm during their games, in a costume that was legendarily pilfered from in front of a cigar store.
Davidson College Wildcats
Mascot: Mr. Cat
Mr. Cat keeps a relatively anonymous online presence. I couldn’t find anything about how he came into being, or when his first appearance was.
University of California at Los Angeles Bruins
Mascot:
Joe Bruin
Joe Bruin
Joe Bruin was first seen in 1924. He was a bachelor back then, before Jose Bruin made him put a ring on it. UCLA originaly used live bears for their mascot, but switched to a costumed mascot in the 1960s.
Stephen F. Austin State University Lumberjacks
Mascot: The Lumberjack
It’s unknown how long The Lumberjack has been the mascot of Stephen F. Austin University.
Eastern Washington University Eagles
Mascot: Swoop the Eagle
Swoop the Eagle came into being in 1973 when the school body voted for the eagle to be the school’s mascot.
University of Alabama at Birmingham Blazers
Mascot: Blaze
Blaze is a European, fire-breating dragon (differentiating between variations of mythical creatures is important). In 1977, then athletic director Gene Bartow got the students to start using the nickname “Blaze” in the hopes that they would blaze a trail acros the country. In 1995, Blaze the dragon became the offical mascot, and made his first appearance in January of 1996.
North Dakota State University Bison
Mascot: Thundar
The name Thundar derives from another nickname of North Dakota State’s athletic teams – The Thundering Herd.
University of North Florida Ospreys
Mascot: Ozzie and Harriet Osprey
Called by SB Nation, “The Most Sexual Mascot in the NCAA”, not much is known about the origins of old Ozzie.
Robert Morris University Colonials
Mascot: RoMo the Colonial
Robert Morris, the actual guy who helped George Washington overthrow the Red Coats and establish the United States of America, has a rich and well-storied history. The mascot not so much. Nothing can really be found about him online.
University of Kentucky Wildcats
Mascot: The Wildcat
Technically, the University of Kentucky has three mascots – The Wildcat, Scratch, and Blue. The Wildcat is the traditional costumed mascot and made his first appearance in 1976. Scratch is child friendly version of The Wildcat, and Blue is a live bobcat, who while an official mascot never attends games since bobcats are shy by nature and do not react well to large crowds.
University of Kansas Jayhawks
Mascot: Big Jay
Big Jay first made his appearance in the 1960s, and has since been joined by Baby Jay, a more child-friendly version of Big jay.
University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Mascot: The Leprechaun
The Leprechaun was named the official mascot of Notre Dame in 1965.
Maryland University Terrapins
Mascot: Testudo
Testudo, the official mascot of the Maryland University Terrapins, came into being in 1932. How exactly the student body came up with the name Testudo is unclear.
West Virginia University Mountaineers
Mascot: The Mountaineer
The Mountaineer was first seen at West Virginia games in the 1930s, when a student decided to show up in a coonskin cap and a cape. Since then, The Mountaineer has been on the sidelines, cheering on the fans.
Butler University Bulldogs
Mascot: Butler Blue (III)
The first Butler Blue, a live English Bulldog, reigned from 2000 to 204. Since then, the crown has passed to Butler Blue the Third, who is known for his proficiousness in performing various dog tricks, such as giving high fives, playing dead, and rolling over.
Wichita State University Shockers
Mascot: WuShock
According to Wichita State students, WuShock is a “big, yellow piece of wheat”. Hoesntly, I don’t know how Wichita state got from Shockers to a piece of wheat. The lightning, anybody?
University of Cincinatti Bearcats
Mascot: The Bearcat
Lucy the Binturong is the live version of the University of Cincinatti’s mascot.
Purdue University Boilermakers
Mascot: The BoilerMaker Special
Soon after its founding, Purdue University became a leader in the research of railway tech (real cutting-edge stuff in the 1890s), and that fact inspired The Boilermaker Special, the train that is the modern-day mascot of Purdue athletics. Silly me, since trains don’t die like animal mascots do, I thought there would just be one. Nope! There’s been seven. The newest one was commissioned in 2011.
Indiana University Hoosiers
Mascot: NO MASCOT
Funnily enough, the Hoosiers don’t have a mascot. It had a bison in the 1960s, but fans didn’t like it, so it quickly got scrapped.
University of Texas at Austin Longhorns
Mascot: Bevo
The original mascot of the Texas Longhorns was actually a bulldog named Pig (because that makes total sense); however, 1916 an alumni raised money to purchase a steer and have it transported to the school. Since then, their have been 14 Becos that have represented the Texas Longhorns.
University of Buffalo Bulls
Mascot: Victor E. Bull
The first mascot of the University of Buffalo was a 175-pound Buffalo head the students amicably named Boscoe. After the giant head went missing (wtf? ), the school switched to a live bull (because they had so much success keeping track of the dead one), but discontinued use of the live mascots in 1970. Since then, a costumed mascot has represented the Buffalo Bulls in the mascot arena. In 2001, Victoria S. Bull was introduced as Victor E. Bull’s sister, but she hasn’t been seen since (University of Buffalo is really good at keeping track of things).
Valparaiso University Crusaders
Mascot: The Valparaiso Crusader
Valparaiso University finally succumbed to having a mascot in 1931, when they chose the Uhlan (a German soldier). Except for two little blips known as WWI and WWII, everything would have gone smoothly, and the Uhlan would still be the athletic representative of Valparaiso University. Alas, not wanting to be associated with the Nazis, they switched to the Crusaders, a medieval group of kings known for doing good, peaceful things and not killing people. Oh wait, the Crusaders weren’t good either.
Northeastern University Huskies
Mascot: Paws
Paws, a Siberian Huskie, made his debut in 1927, and since then there have been eight huskies leading Northern University onto the field. In 1959, Northeastern also started using a costumed mascot – Paws – as well as two elected representatives from the student body, known as Mr. and Ms. Husky.
New Mexico State University Aggies
Mascot: Pistol Pete
Pistol Pete, is named after Frank Eaton, a gunfighter from the Old West. In a move to clean up its image, the school tried to take away Pete’s gunslinging image and replace it with a cleaned up cowboy look, which the students retaliated against. In 2007, the school went back to gunslingin Pistol Pete, and in 2009, the mascot was suspended for fighting with another team’s mascot during a basketball game.
Manhattan College Jaspers
Mascot: NO MASCOT
Amazingly enough, the Manhattan Jaspers don’t have a mascot . . . Come on New York, you’ve got the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, every famous person ever, and you still can’t come up with a mascot? That’s just embarassing.
Hampton University Pirates
Mascot: The Pirate
Other than the fact that the representative of Hapton University is giant, creepy, blue pirate, not much could be found about the mascot known as “The Pirate” (a lot of thought went into that name).
University of Wisconsin at Madison Badgers
Mascot: Buckingham U. Badger
Bucky first showed up in 1949, and there has been a raging debate ever since about what animal should represent the University of Wisconsin at Madison, with suggestons ranging as far as cows and chickens.
University of Arizona Wildcats
Mascot: Wilbur T. Wildcat, Wilma Wildcat
In 1915, the University of Arizona used a live bobcat for their mascot. In 1959, Wilbur, Arizona’s costumed mascot made his first appearance, and in 1986, was married to the recently created Wilma Wildcat.
Baylor University Bears
Mascot: Bruiser the Bear
The Bear became the official mascot of Baylor in 1914, but it took until 1981 for the costumed version to show up.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tar Heels
Mascot: Rameses
Like many team mascots, there are two Rameses – the guy in the costume who showed up in 1978, and the live mascot who showed up in 1924.
University of Arkansas Razorbacks
Mascot: Big Red, Sue E., Pork Chop, Boss Hog, Tusk III
Bid Red is wild razorback hog, AKA not something you would want to meet in the wild. There are several mascots that support Big Red, including Sue E., the women’s mascot, Pork Chop, the kid’s mascot, and Boss Hog, the 9ft tall inflatable mascot.
Xavier University Musketeers
Mascot: D’Artagnan
D’Artagnan was one of the original musketeers of The Three Musketeers fame.
Virginia Commenwealth University Rams
Mascot: Rodney the Ram
Rodney the Ram has been through some changes lately. In 2010, Virginia U updated the design to make it more appealing to fans. Apparently, the design they came up with in 1960s when Rodney first came on the scene wasn’t cutting it anymore.
University of Oregon Ducks
Mascot: The Oregon Duck
The Oregon Duck is infamous among college mascots for his incredible Twitter game.
Oklahoma State University Cowboys
Mascot: Pistol Pete
Just like the University of Wyoming, and New Mexico State University, Oklahoma State’s Pistol Pete mascot is based off of Frank Eaton, an infamous old western gunslinger.
Ohio State University Buckeyes
Mascot: Brutus Buckeye
The buckeyes are a tree native to Ohio, and instead of going with a Buck deer (way cooler), Ohio State chose to go with the tree.
University of Mississippi Rebels
Mascot: Rebel, The Black Bear
It’s unclear how long the University of Mississippi has used a Black Bear as a mascot, but in 2003, they replaced Colonel Reb, a Confederate Colonel bear with Rebel Bear to try to soften their Confederate history and any associations with racism.
Brigham Young University Cougars
Mascot: Cosmo the Cougar
Cosmo first came about in 1953, and since has become one of the NCAA’s most theatrically active mascots, working stilits, back flips, and more into his routines.
Wofford College Terriers
Mascot: Boss
Boss, Terry, and Blitz are live terriers that represent the Wofford Terriers. For big events, a costumed mascot is also seen.
Harvard University Crimson
Mascot: NO MASCOT
Supposedly, John Harvard is the official mascot of Harvard, but there is only one crappy photo of him at a lacrosse game, so I’m not sure that actually counts.
Georgia State University Panthers
Mascot: Pounce
Pounce, the blue Panther, came about in 1963 after Georgia State University entered the NCAA.
Texas Southern University Tigers
Mascot: Tex and Rex, the Tigers
Unfortunately, next to nothing is known about the stories of Tex and Rex, the mascots of Texas Southern University.
Coastal Carolina University Chanticleers
Mascot: Chaucer the Chanticleer
The Chanticleer is the name of the rooster in Chaucer’s famous work ‘The Canterbury Tales’.
Thanks for reading! We hope you enjoyed, and remember, you can find cheap NCAA tickets right here on TickPick!
Related Articles
Recent Posts
- Joey Bada$$ “Dark Aura Tour:” Dates, Tickets, Presales & Setlist Predictions
- Adam Sandler’s “You’re My Best Friend” Tour: Dates, What to Expect, and How to Get Cheap Tickets
- Pentatonix 2025 “Christmas in the City” Tour: Dates, Presale Codes, and Where to Buy Tickets
- Chicago Bulls 2025-26 Schedule
- Denver Nuggets 2025-26 Schedule