PHOTOS: The most interesting mascots in March Madness

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

<p>
<strong>Billikens</strong>
</p>
<p>
<strong>School:</strong>
Saint Louis University
</p>
<p>
<strong>Find them in the bracket:</strong>
5 seed in the Midwest
</p>
<p>
What's up with Saint Louis' mascot? Even the University <a href="http://www.slu.edu/readstory/more/699" target="new">isn't really sure</a>. They described the figure as
the "pet rock" of the early 1900s and said it probably came to be associated with the University because it bore a resemblance to one of their football coaches.
Pretty weird, but we'll give bonus points for a great sense of humor.
</p>

<p>
<strong>Colonials</strong>
</p>
<p>
<strong>School:</strong>
George Washington University
</p>
<p>
<strong>Find them in the bracket:</strong>
9 seed in the East
</p>
<p>
It seems only fitting that George Washington University's mascot would be, well, George Washington. But its cheer squad has another, less expected member:
a hippo. Believe it or not, <a href="http://www.gwu.edu/~presemer/hippo.html" target="new">the hippo has a connection</a> to our first Commander in Chief; legend has it he once watched hippos cavorting in the Potomac from his porch in Mount Vernon, and the Washingtons — like GW students today — believed they bring good luck.
</p>

<p>
<strong>Ragin' Cajuns</strong>
</p>
<p>
<strong>School:</strong>
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
</p>
<p>
<strong>Find them in the bracket:</strong>
14 seed in the West
</p>
<p>
Louisiana-Lafayette has the spiciest nickname out there. Their mascot, Cayenne, <a href="http://ragincajuns.com/news/2011/10/28/Mascots.aspx" target="new">is actually a pepper</a>. We would say it's so cute we could just eat it up, but we're not
sure our taste buds could handle that.
</p>

<p>
<strong>Shockers</strong>
</p>
<p>
<strong>School:</strong>
Wichita State University
</p>
<p>
<strong>Find them in the bracket:</strong>
1 seed in the Midwest
</p>
<p>
With a weak strength of schedule (but an undefeated season under its belt), Wichita State doubters were probably a little shocked to see the team get a #1
seed, but the name doesn't originate from that sense of the word. Instead, they're talking about the <a href="http://www.wichita.edu/thisis/aboutus/about_wushock.asp" target="new">off-season occupation of several football players</a> in the early 1900s — wheat shocking.
That also explains the funny-looking mascot, a bundle of wheat.
</p>

<p>
<strong>Cyclones</strong>
</p>
<p>
<strong>School:</strong>
Iowa State University
</p>
<p>
<strong>Find them in the bracket:</strong>
3 seed in the East
</p>
<p>
Some nicknames just don't translate into a costume, and such is the case with Iowa State. Cy the Cardinal was born in the 1950s when the school wanted a
mascot but decided that you "<a href="http://www.cyclones.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=836866" target="new">couldn't stuff a cyclone.</a>" We're still interested to see
what that costume would have looked like, though.
</p>

<p>
<strong>Tar Heels</strong>
</p>
<p>
<strong>School:</strong>
University of North Carolina
</p>
<p>
<strong>Find them in the bracket:</strong>
6 seed in the East
</p>
<p>
UNC is another case of a mismatched nickname and mascot. The name Tar Heel can also refer to anyone from the state and originates from various legends
about soldiers putting tar on the ground in the <a href="http://www.unc.edu/about/history-and-traditions/whats-a-tar-heel/" target="new">the Revolutionary and Civil wars</a>. Rameses the mascot came later,
inspired by a football player known as the "Battering Ram." Hey, we're just glad there isn't a giant foot running around the court.
</p>

<p>
<strong>Golden Hurricane</strong>
</p>
<p>
<strong>School:</strong>
University of Tulsa
</p>
<p>
<strong>Find them in the bracket:</strong>
13 seed in the South
</p>
<p>
When the team tried to claim the name Golden Tornadoes in the 1920s, the name <a href="http://www.tulsahurricane.com/trads/tuls-trads.html" target="new">was already taken.</a> Instead, they settled on Golden Hurricane. That's right, just one
hurricane. Because a hurricane is a kind of mascot you can't handle more than one of.
</p>

<p>
<strong>Fighting Blue Hens</strong>
</p>
<p>
<strong>School:</strong>
University of Delaware
</p>
<p>
<strong>Find them in the bracket:</strong>
13 seed in the East
</p>
<p>
Putting "fighting" in front of your name automatically shows you're tough, right? In this case, the adjective comes with the territory. The
nickname <a href="http://www.udel.edu/youdee/history.html" target="new">dates back to the Revolutionary War</a>, when cockfighting, sometimes with the Blue Hen breed,
was a popular pastime.
</p>

<p>
<strong>Jaspers</strong>
</p>
<p>
<strong>School:</strong>
Manhattan College
</p>
<p>
<strong>Find them in the bracket:</strong>
13 seed in the Midwest
</p>
<p>
"What is a Jasper?" You might ask. The real question, though, is: "Who was Jasper?" Brother Jasper of Mary, F.S.C. was the school's first athletic
director. He is also credited with creating baseball's age-old <a href="http://www.gojaspers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=640189" target="new">seventh inning stretch</a>
tradition.
</p>

<p>
<strong>Cornhuskers</strong>
</p>
<p>
<strong>School:</strong>
University of Nebraska
</p>
<p>
<strong>Find them in the bracket:</strong>
11 seed in the West
</p>
<p>
If you think this nickname is unique, you haven't heard the one it replaced in 1900: the Bugeaters! Cornhuskers stuck after a sportswriter tried it out
because he <a href="http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=2802" target="new">was tired of talking about the Bugeaters</a>. Gee, wonder why?
</p>

<p>
<strong>Friars</strong>
</p>
<p>
<strong>School:</strong>
Providence College
</p>
<p>
<strong>Find them in the bracket:</strong>
11 seed in the East
</p>
<p>
Providence's human incarnation of its nickname (hiding in the back there) has wound up on more than one <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/articles/927066-cfb-the-10-creepiest-mascots-in-all-of-college-sports" target="new">"Creepiest Mascots" list</a>. An earlier, less
creepy version, was a <a href="http://www.friars.com/trads/mascot.html" target="new">series of Dalmatians named Friar Boy</a>, real dogs that called campus home. We're not sure the switch was a good idea. Come on, what college student doesn't love the idea of a dog running around campus?
</p>

<p>
<strong>Buckeyes</strong>
</p>
<p>
<strong>School:</strong>
Ohio State University
</p>
<p>
<strong>Find them in the bracket:</strong>
6 seed in the South
</p>
<p>
We know what you're going to ask: What exactly is a buckeye? It's a <a href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/82960/buckeye" target="new">poisonous tree nut</a>. Yes, we know what you're going to ask next, too: Why? The 1965
student who suggested the name
<a href="http://library.osu.edu/find/collections/the-ohio-state-university-archives/buckeye-history/faqs#14" target="new">
chose the buck deer as his first choice</a>, and the nut is said to look like its eye. We think, though, that he just wanted an excuse to be punny when calling his mascot a little nutty.
</p>

<p>
<strong>Bearcats</strong>
</p>
<p>
<strong>School:</strong>
University of Cincinnati
</p>
<p>
<strong>Find them in the bracket:</strong>
5 seed in the East
</p>
<p>
Before the Bearcat, there was the "Baehr-cat," a clever play on the last name of a football player, crafted during <a href="http://www.uc.edu/about/history.html" target="new">a game against the Kentucky Wildcats in 1914</a>. The school later adopted the <a href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/65761/binturong" target="new">furry little creature of a similar-sounding name</a>. Today, it's the most unique
animal mascot to climb its way into the Big Dance.
</p>

<p>
<strong>Wildcats</strong>
</p>
<p>
<strong>School:</strong>
Everyone else (or so it seems)
</p>
<p>
<strong>Find them in the bracket:</strong>
Close your eyes and point at your bracket and you'll probably land on one
</p>
<p>
Speaking of Wildcats, Kentucky — along with Weber State, Kansas State, Arizona and Villanova — fails miserably in the originality category. There are not
one, but two matchups in the round of 64 that will pit Wildcats versus Wildcats. Good luck, announcers, on keeping those games from being confusing.
</p>

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PHOTOS: The most interesting mascots in March Madness

Billikens

School: Saint Louis University

Find them in the bracket: 5 seed in the Midwest

What's up with Saint Louis' mascot? Even the University isn't really sure. They described the figure as the "pet rock" of the early 1900s and said it probably came to be associated with the University because it bore a resemblance to one of their football coaches. Pretty weird, but we'll give bonus points for a great sense of humor.

AP Photo/ Mel Evans

PHOTOS: The most interesting mascots in March Madness

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