The La Salle Explorers mascot had its biggest Cinderella moment in 2013 when the 13th-seeded La Salle men’s basketball team advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament. This is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #61 of 348. (View reference images.)
The Wichita State Shockers mascot is a muscular, dopey-looking shock of wheat. But this anthropomorphized bundle of grain and its ninth-seeded men’s basketball team made it to the Final Four of this year’s NCAA tournament. Wichita State narrowly lost in the semifinals on Saturday and thus is not playing in today’s championship game. The goofy yellow haystack from Kansas had an impressive Cinderella run. This is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #60 of 348. (View reference images.)
The Gonzaga Bulldogs mascot had its biggest Cinderella moment in 1999 when the 10th-seeded Gonzaga men’s basketball team advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament. This year, Gonzaga was the top-ranked team in the country going into the NCAA tournament, but the Bulldogs were upset in the Round of 32 by Wichita State (which contributed to the ruination of my bracket). This is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #59 of 348. (View reference images.)
The Virginia Commonwealth Rams mascot had its biggest Cinderella moment in 2011 when the 11th-seeded VCU men’s basketball team advanced to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament, ultimately losing to Butler. This is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #58 of 348. (View reference images.)
The Butler Bulldogs mascot played Cinderella for two consecutive years. In both 2010 and 2011, the Butler men’s basketball team advanced to the national championship game of the NCAA tournament. They were seeded fifth in 2010 and eighth in 2011. This is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #57 of 348. (View reference images.)
The Rutgers Scarlet Knights mascot is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #56 of 347. Rutgers recently announced they will leave the Big East and join the Big Ten Conference with the Marlyand Terrapins on July 1, 2014. This is Big Ten mascot #14 of 14. (View reference images.)
The Maryland Terrapins mascot is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #55 of 347. Maryland recently announced they will leave the ACC and join the Big Ten Conference on July 1, 2014. This is Big Ten mascot #13 of 14. (View reference images.)
The West Virginia Mountaineers mascot is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #54 of 347. West Virginia will leave the Big East Conference and join the Big 12 Conference on July 1, 2012. (View reference images for this mascot, who is not unlike Davy Crockett.)
The Brigham Young Cougars mascot is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #53 of 347. Since BYU has left the Mountain West Conference for the 2011-12 season, this is FBS independent schools mascot #4 of 4. (View reference images.)
The Air Force Falcons mascot is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #52 of 347. Air Force Academy is one of the three NCAA Division I military academies (with Army and Navy). This is Mountain West mascot #3 of 8. (View reference images.)
The Navy Midshipmen mascot is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #51 of 347. Yes, the United States Naval Academy’s “midshipman” mascot is a goat. Go figure. This is FBS independent schools mascot #3 of 4. (View reference images.)
The Army Black Knights mascot is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #50 of 347. Army has two costumed mascots: Blackjack the Mule and the Black Knight. I decided to draw the former. This is FBS independent schools mascot #2 of 4. Today is the start of the NCAA Division IA football schedule. (View reference images.)
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish mascot is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #49 of 347. Tomorrow is the start of the NCAA Division IA football schedule, so here is a leprechaun to kick off another short series of 8-bit college mascots. This is FBS independent schools mascot #1 of 4. (View reference images.)
The TCU Horned Frogs mascot is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #48 of 347. The Texas horned lizard (AKA “horned frog”) is the state reptile of Texas. The 2011-12 academic year is the final season of Texas Christian University’s Mountain West Conference membership. In 2012, TCU will be moving to the Big East Conference. This is Mountain West mascot #2 of 8. (View reference images.)
The Boise State Broncos mascot is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #47 of 347. I hadn’t made a college mascot in a while, so here is Buster Bronco. Today is the first day of the 2011-12 academic year, which means Boise State University is now a member of the Mountain West Conference and has withdrawn from the Western Athletic Conference. This is Mountain West mascot #1 of 8. (View reference images.)
Note: Boise State’s Bronco Stadium is known for its blue field color, or “Smurf Turf.” It was the first college stadium field to be any color other than traditional green, as well as the only college to have a non-green field for 22 years (1986-2008). Since 2009, three other colleges (Eastern Washington, Central Arkansas, New Haven) have installed non-green fields, but Boise State holds a trademark on the blue field.
The Vanderbilt Commodores mascot is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #46 of 347. SEC mascot #12 of 12. (View reference images.)
The Tennessee Volunteers mascot is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #45 of 347. SEC mascot #11 of 12. (View reference images.)
The South Carolina Gamecocks mascot is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #44 of 347. SEC mascot #10 of 12. (View reference images.)
The Mississippi State Bulldogs mascot is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #43 of 347. SEC mascot #9 of 12. (View reference images.)
The Mississippi Rebels mascot is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #42 of 347. SEC mascot #8 of 12. (View reference images.)
