Go Dawgs! The ‘other’ Bulldogs of Fresno State
By Gina Spadafori
June 27, 2008
The Fresno State Bulldogs won the College World Series, and congratulation to the hot dawgs down valley. Their win reminded me of canine college mascots. I did an article on this topic, years ago, and I’m going to try to remember all the major ones.
The best known is arguably the “other” Bulldog mascot, at the University of Georgia. Uga plays center stage at every UGA football game, and even had a pretty major presence in the book, “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.” (One of my all-time favorite reads, by the way, since I love Savannah. Or loved what Savannah used to be, before The Book put it on the map.)
So … Georgia Bulldogs. Fresno Bulldogs. Yale Bulldogs. Lots of others. Bulldogs definitely rule as canine college mascots.
The next best-known college dog mascot in the non-Bulldog division would probably be Smokey, the Bluetick Coonhound at the University of Tennessee. Close behind? Reveille, the Collie at Texas A&M. Huskies at the University of Connecticut and the University of Washington. The Boston Terrier at Boston U.
My favorite? The Salukis the University of Southern Illinois. I mean, really, a Bulldog would be great on the line, but a Saluki would be a swift wide receiver.
And hey, what’s a matter with a Labrador? Go Fighting Labs!
Cats? Don’t know of any domestic cat college mascots, but lots of Tigers and Bobcats, the first most notably Mike at the Louisiana State University.
Did I miss any of the big ones? Put ‘em in the comments.
Living in Fresno county, we’re getting plenty of bulldog mania; a simple and proud joy in their accomplishments. Unfortunately bulldogs is a name often associated with a leading gang in the area so one always has to do a double take when confronting that label.
I too love SIU’s mascot the saluki, especially since I live with members of this breed. And along that path, our local college’s mascot is the falcon.
So where are the chicken mascots in all of this?
Comment by ChrisRL — June 27, 2008 @ 10:28 pm
I can think of two without even trying:
The Blue Hens of the University of Delaware
The Fighting Gamecocks of the University of South Carolina
I used to work with a reporter who had been in the band at the University of South Carolina. You can only imagine all the rowdy cheers for the ‘Cocks that came out of the horns section — I got to hear them all.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — June 28, 2008 @ 6:08 am
Gina,
Uga passed away from congestive heart failure just this week. Here’s the link:
http://www.wtop.com/?nid=104&sid=1430674
:(
Comment by Sharon H — June 28, 2008 @ 6:31 pm
oh no! The State of Georgia grieves.
One of my pals in Georgia is a Superior Court judge. What is he most proud of in his home? Why, the framed, pawtographed picture of him with Uga, of course.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — June 28, 2008 @ 7:40 pm
Here’s a story from the Atlanta J-C on the death of Uga.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — June 29, 2008 @ 3:54 pm
A “mudhen” is a ducklike bird called a coot, also the minor league players from Toledo.
But I love them, love the Mudhens. Minor league ball is the best.
One summer I interned with state government in Columbus, OH. We used to go to the Clippers games and drink cheap beer and eat ptomaine dogs and scream for the ‘hens.
Comment by H. Houlahan — June 29, 2008 @ 6:46 pm