Top 10 Most Unusual College Mascots

There are some pretty crazy college mascots across the U.S.  Some are super intimidating, while others are, well…maybe a little strange. But no doubt all have a great story behind them. Here are some of the most "original" we've found.

1. Sammy the Banana Slug— University of California, Santa Cruz
Not all mascots are intended to scare the other teams.  For instance: Sammy the Banana Slug.  UCSC athletic programs have long been designed for everyone to be able to be involved, no matter their skill level.  Because of this, the students embraced the idea of a banana slug as their mascot— a small creature who hangs out on the floor of the redwood forest.  Students felt the banana slug represented that everyone could be involved no matter what their athletic ability.

2. Boll Weevils— University of Arkansas, Monticello
Other mascots have almost hidden meanings.  An individual boll weevil is a teeny tiny insect, which could easily be squashed by a human thumb.  But when traveling in a hoard, as boll weevils do, they are almost unstoppable.  According to UAM's website, University President Frank Horsfall gave the school its mascot in 1925 at a homecoming pep rally.  When he did this, he referenced the fear that boll weevils struck in cotton farmers because of their ability to wipe out an entire crop.  So UAM's mascot, according to Horsfall, is "the only thing tough enough to truly lick the South."

3. Fighting Pickles— North Carolina School of the Arts
There's really not much of an explanation for this one since the school doesn't have officially-sanctioned athletic teams…except for the fact that many times a contest for college students to choose a new mascot will result in a silly choice.  The fighting pickles became the mascot for the NCSA in 1972, after three students submitted the idea with the slogan "Sling ’em by their warts!" Instead of "official" sports, NCSA's Fighting Pickles take the field for touch-football.  AND, the Fighting Pickle was named the second "most lovable college mascot" in the nation by Reader's Digest magazine! 

4. The Fighting Okra— Delta State University
The official mascot of Delta State University is the statesman— named for a state representative who had a large impact on the school.  In the 1980s, however, the student body felt the need for something more intimidating— like okra.  The Fighting Okra was decided to be the unofficial mascot for DSU because it's "green, southern, and ugly."

5. Gaylord the Fighting Camel— Campbell University
CU's camel mascot is believed to have derived from a statement made by an early school patron who said "Your name's Campbell; then get a hump on you!  We've got work to do!"  Apparently the similar sounds of "Campbell" and "camel" created the mascot of the fighting camel.  Why his name is Gaylord, no one really knows…

6. Salukis— Southern Illinois University Carbondale
A Saluki is a mid-sized breed of dog.  While a full-grown Saluki (weighing in at 40-60 pounds) is not very intimidating, its position as SIU Carbondale's mascot actually makes quite a bit of sense.  Southern Illinois has been nicknamed "Little Egypt" for many years; and since Salukis are Egyptian hunting dogs, it seemed only fitting that they would become the mascot of SIU Carbondale.

7. Kernel the Cobber— Concordia College
Concordia College is surrounded by cornfields, which creates a beautiful view.  So it's only fitting that their mascot would be related to this landscape.  Concordia's mascot, Kernel the Cobber is an angry ear of corn, who runs on 2 sections of his husk.  Watch out opponents— this guy is fierce.

8. WuShock— Wichita State University
Keeping with the grain theme, Wichita State University's mascot is a muscled up shock of wheat named "WuShock."  According to the University's website, the idea for a shock of wheat as a mascot came from the football team's manager back in 1904, as a comment on the players still getting paid during the wheat harvesting (or "shocking") season.

9. The Stanford Tree— Stanford University
The Stanford Tree is the official mascot of the Stanford band and the unofficial mascot of the school.  Over the years, Stanford teams have had a variety of nicknames, but no real mascots.  In the 1970s, a vote was taken for a new mascot, but none of the mascots voted for were allowed to be the mascot.  The Stanford band decided to have a series of shows that included what some of the proposed mascots would have looked like.  The tree was a huge hit with the student body, and has been around since.

10. Speedy the Geoduck— Evergreen State College
Geoducks are native to the Pacific Northwest— precisely where ESC is located.  Perhaps this is why the school chose a large snail as their mascot.  Geoducks are extremely tough mollusks, with long necks that look oddly similar to an elephant's trunk.  These mollusks can actually grow up to 2m in length, bury themselves in the ground, up to 1m deep, and can then live for an extremely long time because most things cannot get to them.  Perhaps Speedy the Geoduck's theme song should be "Can't Touch This" by M.C. Hammer.

What's your favorite mascot? We'd love to hear!