When talking about college mascots, what comes to your mind first? A tiger, or a beaver? There are also some worst college mascots that will make you laugh. In most cases, college mascots are used to cheer for the team on behalf of the university. However, some weirdest college mascots cannot act as a spiritual symbol, and make everyone laugh or even feel sick. Let’s take a look at which are considered as worst college mascots in the US.
Ranking 10 Worst College Mascots
These 10 worst college mascots are listed in no particular order.
1. Stanford University: Stanford Tree
Stanford Tree is the unofficial mascot of Stanford University, and often appears on behalf of Stanford’s team at football games, basketball games, and other sports events. The tree in Stanford University’s logo is normal, but the mascot is quite wacky. Compared to other worst college mascots, Stanford Tree is not the ugliest one. Nevertheless, it has been nominated on weirdest college mascots lists.
2. UC Santa Cruz: Banana Slug
The mascot of UCSC is a banana slug, named Sammy. You can find the prototype of UCSC’s mascot in nature — the slug. I really don’t understand how this image became their mascot. It is said that the slug defeated the sea lion in an overwhelming vote to become UCSC’s mascot.
3. Providence College: Friar Dom
Providence College’s mascot used to be Friar Boy, the Dalmatian dog. After the death of Friar Boy IV, a man was selected as Providence College’s mascot for the first time. He was a kind man always with a smile on his face, just like the lovable Friar Tuck from the Tales of Robin Hood. The mascot Friar Dom is named after Dominican Friars, the school’s founder. But the appearance of this mascot is so weird, especially his big eyes. It’s totally a character from horror movies! Friar Dom is far and away worst college mascot.
4. Arizona State University: Sparky
At first, the mascot of Arizona State University was not Sparky, the Sun Devil. Owl and Bulldog have both served as the school’s mascots. Until 1946, the university officially changed its mascot to Sparky. Although faculty and students here love Sparky, he has been listed as one of the ugliest college mascots. It’s probably because of his wicked smile. But there’s no denying that everyone welcomes Sparky.
5. Pepperdine University: Willie the Wave
Willie’s flowing hair and blue skin make him look creepy and ugly. Actually, Willie didn’t look like this. When Pepperdine University moved its campus from Los Angeles to Malibu’s coastal area, the school changed Willie’s hairstyle to blue waves to highlight the campus’ characteristics.
6. UMass Amherst: Sam the Minuteman
UMass Amherst‘s mascot perfectly embodies the American desire for a male’s appearance: a clear jawline and butt jaw. But it often makes people feel uncomfortable to look at an exaggerated version of an American man. As a result, Sam the Minuteman is always listed as one of the worst mascots.
7. Purdue University: Pete
Pete is not Purdue University‘s official mascot, only the athletic mascot. Its official mascot is the Boilermaker Special, a locomotive. Despite being a sports mascot, Pete is famous for its ugly appearance. He holds a hammer in his hand all the time. His face is long, and eyes are wide open. He looks horrible for his expressionless face.
8. Pennsylvania State University: Nittany Lion
Look at him. Is it a bear or a lion? He looks so weird! His name is Nittany Lion. Nittany is named after Mount Nittany, from which you can overlook the entire Pennsylvania State University. The Nittany Lion looks a bit like a teddy bear, but often bares its fangs and becomes fierce. The sense of incompatibility made him one of the worst college mascots.
9. Wichita State University: WuShock
WuShock looks really weird. You cannot even tell what it is. The Wichita State University website describes it as “a big, bad, muscle-bound bundle of wheat”. The official explanation is even weirder! And why did they choose WuShock as their mascot? It turned out that in the past, the school’s football players had to harvest wheat to earn money for tuition, hence they named their team “wheat shockers”. Later, the name was shortened to WuShock.
10. Syracuse University: Otto the Orange
Otto the Orange is the mascot of Syracuse University Athletics. In fact, just look at the logo, Otto is very cute. Then, why was he repeatedly listed as one of the worst college mascots? That’s because it looks so different in real life. Especially his big nose, which looks out of place.
Final Thoughts on Worst College Mascots
Ranking the worst college mascots is just for fun. Don’t be serious! Actually, lots of students propose changing these weird college mascots every year. However, changing college mascots is not an easy process. It’s difficult to choose a mascot that everyone loves and recognizes. The mascot is also a symbol of the university. In many sports events, it directly represents the image of the school. If it were you, would you be willing to change your school’s weird college mascots?
FAQs about Worst College Mascots
Worst college mascots include Stanford Tree, Banana Slug, Otto the Orange, Sparky, Willie the Wave, Sam, Pete, Nittany Lion, WuShock, and Scrotie.
Many schools have no official mascot. For example, Stanford University doesn’t have an official mascot. Students selected Stanford Tree from its logo as their mascot.
According to statistics, the eagle and the tiger are the most used college mascot images.
Handsome Dan, Yale University’s mascot, was introduced in 1889, and is considered one of the first college mascots.
