Mascot Madness

If you are in search of colorful stories and quirky traditions, the origins of some of the of the nation's college mascots are a great place to look. For a lengthy list of weird college names, you can start here, but I would like to share a little of my own mascot madness with you.

If you are a faithful follower of this blog, you know that I have become an Idaho fan.  The only reason I can give is... how can you not like a team called the Vandals? 

Oddly, it is not a direct reference to the Germanic tribe that sacked Rome in 455 AD, although that is the origin of the word.  According to the Idaho athletics website, it was a tribute to the 1917 basketball squad whose aggressive style of defense was known to "vandalize" their opponents.  A sports reporter for the school newspaper wrote in  a season preview, “The opening game with Whitman will mark a new epoch in Idaho basketball history, for the present gang of ‘vandals’ have the best material that has ever carried the ‘I’ into action.”

By 1921, the name was official.


As a native of Massachusetts, I have a great apprecation for the unique history of the state. It makes perfect sense to me that the mascot of the University of Massachusetts should be a Minuteman.

But this is a clear example of how athletics and attitudes have changed.  The university was established in 1863 as the Massachusetts Agricultural College.  The first woman was admitted in 1892.  In 1947, it officially changed its name to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.  Even then, when they chose their mascot, it may not have dawned on anyone that women would compete in intercollegiate sports.  But, now, of course, they do.

That leaves U Mass in the uncomfortable position of calling their ladies' athletics teams the Minutewomen.


One of the strangest stories involves the origins of the Scottsdale Community College Artichoke.

The school was constructed in 1970 after a 99 year lease gave it access to a parcel of land on the Salt River Indian reservation.  This was a time of social activism on college campuses, and the college's constitution was written in a way that gave the students an unusual amount of budget oversight and control.

While the administration saw athletics as a way to build school spirit and enhance its reputation, many students felt the priorities should be on stocking the shelves of the library and building a daycare for students with children. 

The tension was constant.

According to an article on the SCC website, "Student government allotted 11 scholarships for the Indians on whose land the campus stood. The administration of that day had other ideas.  It felt the scholarships could be put to better use by luring out of state athletes."

After stripping the student government of much of its power, and moving forward with plans to enhance SCC athletics, the administration, rather foolishly, allowed the student senate to conduct an election to name the school's mascot.  The senate, in a fit of civil disobediance, offered three outlandish possibilities: the Scoundrels, the Rutabaga, and the Artichoke.

The Artichoke won. 

Then the administration argued that the election was invalid, since only 11% of the students had voted.  Another election was held, offering "the Drovers" as an alternative to the Artichoke.  This time, the outcome was decided by nearly 80% of the vote.

The Artichoke won again.

So, Artie the Artichoke was born as the result of a student protest in Arizona.


When you read about the origins of the Delware Blue Hen, you understand why they are such a proud bunch. 

In late 1775, the Continental Congress asked the state of Delaware to raise a regiment to add strength to the army fighting the British.  The second of the eight companies formed was from Kent County, along the lower portion of the Delaware River.

According to the university's website, "The troops often amused themselves by staging cockfights with a breed known as the Kent County Blue Hen, recognizable for its blue plumage."

As the men from Delaware distinguished themselves in
battle, they also became known for the fighting reputation of their ferocious chickens.

The University of Delaware traces its roots to a small, private academy founded in 1743. They first began playing football in 1889, and, when choosing blue and gold as the school's colors, did so because those were the colors of George Washington's uniform, and because the first permanent colonists in Delaware were from Sweden, whose national flag is a gold cross on a blue background.


No article on strange mascots would be complete without mentioning the University of California at Santa Cruz.

The students at UCSC were a low key bunch, and wanted the school to reflect their attitude. They thought athletics should be available for all students, not just a select few. As a result, their club teams and intramural progams were very strong.

The university's website says, "The Banana Slug, a bright yellow, slimy, shell-less mollusk found in the campus's redwood forest, was the unofficial mascot for UC Santa Cruz's coed teams since the university's early years."

In 1980, when the university decided to participate in five NCAA sports at the Division III level, they needed an official team name in order to apply.  The chancellor at the time, and a small group of athletes, supported the name Sea Lions.  This did not sit well with the majority of the students.  Even after a Sea Lion was painted on the gym floor, and a Sea Lion statue erected on campus, most continued to think of their teams as the Banana Slugs.

After five years of bickering, the student body was again asked to deliver their opinion in a non-binding vote.  The Banana Slug won in a landslide. 

In a recent issue, Time magazine placed the Banana Slugs first on a list of top ten worst team names.  But, Reader's Digest had already named the Banana Slug the best college mascot in 2004.  And, in 2008, ESPN Sports Travel named the Banana Slug as the best nickname in college basketball.

I thnk he's kind of cute.


My favorite new mascot story was provided to me recently by regular reader Matt Adams.  It's not a college at all.  It's the Arkansas School for the Deaf.  They just recently announced that they have joined the Great Plains School for the Deaf Conference which will enable them to compete for championships in cheerleading, track, basketball, volleyball, and, of course, football.

The school dates back to 1850 in Fort Smith, Arkansas, through the efforts of a woman named Asa Clark. The Civil War forced the school to close, but it re-opened in 1868 in Little Rock as the Arkansas Deaf Mute Institute.

The school continued to grow and gain prominence.  Dr. Alexander Graham Bell, the great experimenter in sound and electricity, visited the school in 1898.  His wife, Mabel, was completely deaf as a result of scarlet fever contracted at age five. 

In 1941, the ASD won the national basketball championship for schools for the deaf held at the Illinois School for the Deaf.

Their football team is small, but tough.  Every player plays both offense and defense, all four quarters.

It's not clear when they chose their mascot, and it was certainly decades before the formation of any English rock bands, but, yes, ladies and gentlemen, they are the Arkansas School for the Deaf Leopards.