SALT LAKE CITY – Monday is National Pet Day. Take a look at the evolution of some school mascots in Utah over the years.
Brigham Young University
Before there was Cosmo, the stunt-loving BYU student dressed as a cougar, there were real, live cougars as mascots at BYU.
Two cougar cubs named Cleo and Tarbo were brought to the Provo campus in 1925, where they served as pets and permanent residents. When they escaped from their cage in 1929, the faculty shouted, “The cougars are out!”
The incident inspired the BYU Fight Song and led to changes in the mascot department. Things have been more common since then.
The first incarnation of Cosmo, as he is known to students and alumni today, was in 1953, when he parachuted onto the field at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
The cougar costume has seen a few updates over the years. The human-sized puma’s head has been made smaller in recent decades to allow Cosmo more mobility for acrobatics. And more recently, Cosmo has been gifted with some hairy abs.
Southern Utah University
Thor the Thunderbird combines Norse mythology with Native American culture to be “the electrifying embodiment of SUU pride and spirit.” Thor was created in 1958, but it wasn’t until the 1970s that he came to life as a costumed character.
The mighty T-bird hasn’t always been SUU’s animal representative. In 1946, the year of the school’s inaugural football season, students were looking for a more compelling mascot than the “Branch Aggies” and settled on the Broncos.
It was a great mascot choice, except for one thing: Many other agricultural schools in the region had also chosen the Broncos as their good luck charm. After too many Broncos vs. Broncos games, SUU opted for Thor the Thunderbird.
Fun fact: Of around 1,200 NCAA member schools, SUU is the only one to have the Thunderbird as its mascot.
University of Utah
Utah’s premier public university has had a few mascots since its pioneering beginnings, some of them deeply controversial.
The U. was initially known as “the Crimson,” but terms like “Indians,” “Redskins,” and “Utes” began appearing in the student newspaper Daily Utah Chronicle in the 1920s. This was also when they began appearing stereotypical caricatures of Native Americans in relation to college.
Utah retired the “Ho-Yo” cartoon mascot and the “Redskins” nickname in 1972 amid concerns from students and teachers.
The school introduced a new mascot in 1985: a member of the student body dressed in supposedly traditional Native American clothing, riding a horse across the football field, which was intended to be a symbol, rather than a mascot.
Some students were not fans and the live mascot/symbol was retired in 1993. Since then, the university has maintained use of the name “Utes”, with permission from the Ute tribe, and students began cheering for Swoop the hawk red-tailed in 1996.
Swoop’s appearance on campus aligned with the centennial of Utah statehood.
Utah State University
The origins of USU’s bull mascot, Big Blue, are a bit turbulent.
The school used to round up a live white bull, apply some blue paint to it, and send it to the football field. It wasn’t perfect, but it worked, at least until Big Blue was needed on the basketball court.
To avoid damaging the new court, Big Blue got some red rubber boots, which was “a disaster,” according to historical accounts. The live bull was officially retired.
The first attempt to create a costumed version of Big Blue appeared in 1987. It had real bull horns and was not very functional. Things have improved since then, and the new and improved royal blue bull still excites Aggies on game day.
Utah Technological University
Utah Tech, formerly Dixie State, went through five mascots before landing on Brooks the Bison in 2016. It was a bit of a bumpy ride.
Rodney the Rebel, a Confederate soldier mascot, debuted in 1980 and ran for 22 years. He was updated to be an Indiana Jones-style mascot in 2002, but his name remained the same. Three years later, Rodney the Rebel was decommissioned in favor of Reb the Red Hawk. The school permanently changed the Rebels nickname in 2009, when it changed to Red Storm and a bull mascot named Ragin’ Red. The bull Big Dee arrived a few years later.
The modern-day bison was selected for its literal pioneer status: When bison traveled across North America, they created trails that Native Americans and pioneers would later use.
Utah Valley University
Willy the Wolverine is something of a mystery, as wolverines are not native to Utah. And the exact date of Willy’s appearance at Utah’s largest university is unclear.
Here’s what we do know: Willy was named in honor of UVU President Wilson W. Sorenson, who served from 1946 to 1982. It appears the student body voted to make the mascot a wolverine. After the vote was called, the school purchased the iconic furry wolverine costume.
Weber State University
How did a bobcat come to become Weber State’s mascot? It just happened.
Legend has it that football player Wallace “Wally” Morris received the nickname “Wildcat” while playing for Weber’s team. Journalists started calling the team the Wildcats and that stuck.
Then-president Aaron Tracy was unhappy with the name, which he found degrading. He expected a “more noble” pet, like a lion. However, the students didn’t care.
Weber State students paraded around a live bobcat at football games, increasing discontent with each season. The wildcat’s illustrious career ended when he bit entertainer Judy Freeman on the nose.
WSU has since recruited the much friendlier Waldo the Wildcat to warm up the home crowd.
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