There’s at least one unique characteristic to every college in the U.S. Some schools have interesting campuses and traditions. Several schools have similar or even the same mascots. There are a few schools whose mascots stand out! Based on our research, here are ten of the quirkiest college mascots in the country.
1. Troll
Trinity Christian College
The Troll was founded in 1959 and according to Trinity Christian College’s website, “Trolls” referred to TRinity cOLLege Students, and was originally pronounced more like “trolley.”
2. Keggy the Keg
Dartmouth College
Following the abolition of Dartmouth’s American Indian mascot in 1971, members of Dartmouth’s humor magazine, the ‘Dartmouth Jack-O-Lantern,’ created Keggy the Keg in 2003. Initially, the unofficial mascot was controversial. Over time, Keggy the Keg has become an integral part of Dartmouth school spirit.
3. Ephelia the Purple Cow
Williams College
Williams’ mascot came to be over two instances. Two young ladies heard that Harvard adopted a college color before Williams College headed to play a baseball game against Harvard in 1865. They quickly made and pinned purple rosettes on the baseball players’ uniforms before taking off. Following this, Williams College adopted purple as their school color. Then, in 1907, students voted to make the mascot of Williams College a cow given that the school’s humor magazine was called ‘The Purple Cow.’
4. The Blue Blob
Xavier University
Although Xavier’s primary mascot is the Musketeers, its more exciting and secondary mascot is the Blue Blob. In 1985, spirit squad coordinator Sally Watson designed the Blob when she realized that the Musketeer scared little children.
5. Cayenne (The Ragin’ Cajuns)
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
A Ragin’ Cajun is not a person or an animal, but a feeling that describes Louisiana Lafayette’s unique way of life. It represents the school’s and Louisiana’s hot and spicy food and unique music.
6. Sammy the Banana Slug
UC Santa Cruz
The Banana Slug served as UC Santa Cruz’s unofficial mascot by students participating in extramural sports as it represented many characteristics of the campus and the people. However, when the school decided to participate in Division III athletics, the school’s chancellor at the time opted for the mascot to become a sea lion. This was met with opposition and after a vote by the students in 1986, the official mascot became the banana slug.
7. Kernel Cobb
Concordia College
According to Concordia College, several different explanations for why the cobber is given; in Australian slang, it’s a good pal. In Britain, it’s someone you take a liking to. But at Concordia, the cobber is their official mascot. A rival school began using the term to mock the “country boys” from Concordia. Rather than taking offense, Concordia embraced the name and utilized it as their mascot as a personified corncob.
8. Fighting Okra
Delta State University
In the 1980s, the “Fighting Okra” grew out of humor among students about the improbability that anyone would find a “Statesman” particularly frightening. In the mid-1990s, a student vote was taken, resulting in the university taking on “The Fighting Okra” as an unofficial mascot.
9. The Fighting Pickle
North Carolina School of the Arts
NCSA has no official sports teams, however, its mascot, The Fighting Pickle, came to be when the school took on a Wake Forest University fraternity in a touch football game. A name was needed for the team, so a contest was held. The Fighting Pickles was the winning entry and has stuck ever since.
10. Artie the Fighting Artichoke
Harvard University
In the early 1970’s students felt the administration was putting too much money into the sports teams and not education. So the student body was asked to vote on a mascot with the majority voting for The Fighting Artichokes. The election was facilitated by the League of Women Voters and the results were binding.