Each year, millions of dollars are spent buying merchandise that shows team spirit. What does the mascot mean?
The Big 12 Conference has twelve schools. It originated in the 1996-1997 school year and has been a booming success. The mascot participants are as follows:
- University of Kansas: Jayhawk
- University of Colorado: Buffalo
- University of Missouri: Tigers
- Texas A and M University: Aggies
- University of Texas: Longhorns
- Oklahoma State University: Cowboys
- University of Oklahoma: Sooners
- Iowa State University: Cyclones
- Kansas State University: Wildcats
- Texas Tech University: Masked Riders
- Baylor University: Bears
Meaning of a Mascot and How the University Uses a Mascot
Each of these mascots have a particular relation to the region of the university and history of the school. The university uses mascots for school spirit and also to communicate to students. Information about the H1N1 flu strain was disseminated on campuses this year, via the mascot. Mascot branding influences school spirit and raises money for the university sports programs.
Kansas Jayhawk is a Fictional Bird
The Jayhawk is a fictional bird that is have blue jay and half sparrow hawk. Its a bird of the plains where the University of Kansas resides.
Colorado Buffalo Was Chosen From the Newspaper
The Buffalo signifies the wild of the mountains and the entrance to the west and was chosen from a 1934 newspaper competition.
University of Missouri Tiger Named After a Militia
The Missouri Tigers are named after a civil war militia group.
Texas Aggies Aren’t Just Farmers
An Aggie is a short name for a person that attends and agricultural and mechanical college.
Bevo the Texas Longhorn
Bevo is a legendary longhorn that was bought by University of Texas students in 1920. The Longhorn mascot has stayed.
Bugeaters Did Not Do the Cornhuskers Justice
A Cornhusker is someone that husks corn or attends University of Nebraska. The name originated in the 1900s because sports writer Charles Sherman did not approve of calling the Nebraska team “the bugeaters.”
The Cowboys
In 1923, Oklahoma State wanted to change their mascot and found a cowboy to stand for a caricature. Before that, they had been aggies and at one time an orange and white tiger. University of Oklahoma adapted the Sooner mascot while Oklahoma was still a land grant state and the sooner a person laid claim, the quicker he got his land.
Cyclones Originate during an 1895 Twister Season
Iowa State University mixed up a twister and a cardinal to originate the fighting Cyclones. It came about in 1895 because the US Weather service had not started calling cyclones, tornadoes and the state of Iowa had a series of cyclones that year that were substantial.
Kansas State Wildcats
Kansas State adapted the Wildcat in 1947 when a high school kid performed gymnastics at half time in a brown wild cat outfit. This was Kansas’s way of getting away from the aggie designation. Good thing because people got tired of aggies playing aggies.
The Masked Rider of Texas Tech
The ‘ghost rider’ that road through the game at the 1947 Texas Tech game has become the Masked Rider. The reason he was called a mask rider is because he was never identified.
Handpicking the Baylor Bear
Baylor voted as a university, December 1914, to adapt the Bear as their mascot and they have yet to change their mind.
Bears, Masked Riders, Cowboys, Wild Cats, Cyclones, Longhorns, Buffaloes, Sooners, Huskers and Jayhawks, Tigers and Aggies may sound like a zoo, but don’t be mistaken, they are representatives of the Big 12 Conference which is home to a proud group of univerisities between Canada and Mexico representing a large region of the United States. Stay proud, wear your favorite mascot and team colors.
