Mascots, you’ve seen them, you’ve loved them, you may have even hugged one or given it a high five. The often cute, sometimes, weird, but always iconic creatures that can be seen roaming the sidelines of any college football game at any given time. Sometimes they are animals, sometimes characters and sometimes something a little more vague. They often embody the history, traditions and values of the school they represent and they can bring multitudes of passionate alumni to their unyielding defense in countless sports arguments. There are literally thousands if you consider all the universities, community colleges, high schools and even pro teams out there. However, nothing get’s people excited like a good college mascot and many have some pretty interesting origins. Here are a few.
From the “what on earth is that?” category we proudly present to you Brutus Buckeye, of the Ohio state Buckeyes. Brutus has a big round head that sort of looks like one of those Little Debbie fudge brownie things, and at first and second glance you would have no real idea what he is supposed to be. The Buckeye is a tree that grows in the Ohio region, and the term “Buckeye” was a tribute to the pioneers that originally settled the area. In theory Brutus looks like that nut. The name Brutus was voted on by the student body back when the name Brutus wasn’t weird.
Any college fan in America knows Alabama and the Crimson Tide. So naturally, what else would you associate with the waxing of the ocean’s tide then an elephant? Sure, why not? We give you “Big Al,” the mascot behind the famed and fabled University of Alabama.
“Big Al” started back in the 1930’s in a surprisingly simple manner. A sports reporter wrote that during a game he heard an Alabama fan yell “hold your horses, the elephants are coming,” in reference to the rumbling of the first team running on the field. The idea of the elephant took root. In the 1960’s one Melford Espey Jr. wore an elephant head costume to a game. I would probably wear a costume if that was my name too. None the less, Melford later became a school administrator and was asked to come up with a mascot to represent the Tide. They chose the elephant. The student body put it to a vote and the best name they could come up with was Big Al. Thus a legend was born.
The University of Texas Longhorns have a pretty interesting tale as well. The longhorn is nothing new, but what is interesting is how it got its name. Their mascot is named Bevo. Originally “Bevo” was named “Bo” and nobody knows for sure why it was changed but the legend goes like this. In 1916 Texas’ arch rival Texas A&M beat the Longhorns 13-0. Four A&M students reportedly kidnapped Bevo and branded 13-0 on his side. UT couldn’t stand for this so students creatively turned 13-0 into Bevo. While this story has never been proven it is more interesting than the newest theory that claims Bevo is derived from the term “beeve”, which used to be used to describe cattle headed to the meat markets. Bevo has quite a history as he the current one is the 14th they have had.
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