Mr. Owl is a character first introduced in an animated Tootsie Pops commercial which debuted on U.S. television in 1969. Tootsie Pops are hard candy lollipops filled with chocolate-flavored chewy Tootsie Roll. After the commercial, Mr. Owl became the mascot for Tootsie Pops, appearing in marketing campaigns and on the packaging. How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?
The Davidson Wildcats mascot is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #93 of 352. The 2008 Davidson Wildcats men’s basketball team, starring Stephen Curry, is one of the greatest Cinderella stories in NCAA history. (View reference images.)
The George Mason Patriots mascot is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #92 of 352. The 2006 George Mason Patriots men’s basketball team is one of the greatest Cinderella stories in NCAA history. (View reference images.)
The Loyola Marymount Lions mascot is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #91 of 352. The 1990 Loyola Marymount Lions men’s basketball team is one of the greatest Cinderella stories in NCAA history, and they had the whole nation rooting for them after the tragic death of superstar Hank Gathers. (View reference images.)
The Villanova Wildcats mascot is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #90 of 352. The 1985 Villanova Wildcats men’s basketball team is the greatest of all Cinderella stories, becoming the lowest-seeded national champion in NCAA history. (View reference images.)
The Xavier Musketeers mascot, the Blue Blob, is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #89 of 352. There is a second official Musketeers mascot, D’Artagnan, but I prefer the furry creature. (View reference images.)
The 2014 Winter Paralympics, officially the XI Paralympic Winter Games, will be held from March 7-16, 2014, in Sochi, Russia. Ray of Light (Fire Boy) and Snowflake (Snow Girl) were selected as the two mascots of the 2014 Winter Paralympic Games. The story goes that Ray of Light flew down to Earth from a planet where it was always hot.
The 2014 Winter Paralympics, officially the XI Paralympic Winter Games, will be held from March 7-16, 2014, in Sochi, Russia. Snowflake (Snow Girl) and Ray of Light (Fire Boy) were selected as the two mascots of the 2014 Winter Paralympic Games. The story goes that Snowflake flew down to Earth from an icy planet.
The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially the XXII Olympic Winter Games, are currently taking place from February 6-23, 2014, in Sochi, Russia. The European Hare (designed by Silviya Petrova, Chuvashia) was selected as one of three 2014 Winter Olympic Games mascots. The other two mascots are the Amur Leopard (by Vadim Pak, Nakhodka) and the Polar Bear (by Oleg Serdechniy, Sochi).
The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially the XXII Olympic Winter Games, are currently taking place from February 6-23, 2014, in Sochi, Russia. The Polar Bear (designed by Oleg Serdechniy, Sochi) was selected as one of three 2014 Winter Olympic Games mascots. The other two mascots are the Amur Leopard (by Vadim Pak, Nakhodka) and the European Hare (by Silviya Petrova, Chuvashia).
The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially the XXII Olympic Winter Games, are currently taking place from February 6-23, 2014, in Sochi, Russia. The Amur Leopard (designed by Vadim Pak, Nakhodka) was selected as one of three 2014 Winter Olympic Games mascots. The other two mascots are the Polar Bear (by Oleg Serdechniy, Sochi) and the European Hare (by Silviya Petrova, Chuvashia).
The Yale Bulldogs mascot, Boola the Bulldog, is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #88 of 352. (View reference images.)
The Harvard Crimson mascot, a hideous distortion of John Harvard (who was a puritan clergyman from England), is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #87 of 352. (View reference images.)
The Princeton Tigers mascot is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #86 of 352. This costumed tiger has terrifying bared teeth and gums, which look even more terrifying when it holds a seven-month-old baby. (View reference images.)
The Memphis Tigers mascot, Pouncer, is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #85 of 352. In addition to having a costumed mascot, Memphis is also one of only two universities in America with a live tiger mascot, TOM III. (View reference images.)
The Evergreen State Geoducks mascot, Speedy, is NAIA pixel art mascot #1. I couldn’t resist this one any longer. In real life, a geoduck is a large, edible, saltwater clam from the Puget Sound that resembles a penis. But the Evergreen State mascot is basically a googly-eyed pickle wrapped in a gilded silver taco. The motto of Evergreen State, located in Olympia, Washington, is the tongue-in-cheek phrase “Omnia Extares,” which means “Let it all hang out.” By the way, real-life geoducks have an average lifespan of 147 years. (View reference images.)
The Willamette Bearcats mascot, Blitz, is NCAA Division III pixel art mascot #2 of 449. If you’re wondering, a bearcat is neither cat nor bear. Bearcats, also known as binturongs, are arboreal mammals with prehensile tails native to South and Southeast Asia forests. I’m really not sure how so many American college teams ended up with bearcat mascots. Maybe because bear + cat sounds extra ferocious? (View reference images.)
I miss Salem, Oregon, home of Willamette University. I lived there for four years, from 2001 through 2005, and I still visit when I can. I particularly enjoy the area around Willamette University, the capitol building grounds and Bush’s Pasture Park. Kurt Vonnegut called Willamette University’s campus “heaven on Earth.” I used to play tennis on the Willamette courts. The lovely Mill Race runs the full length of campus. In 2004, I almost got a web developer/designer job at Willamette University but ended up accepting a similar position at Oregon State University (where I still work). This ultimately meant I had to move south, because the 45-minute commute to Corvallis got old after nine months.
The Cincinnati Bearcats mascot is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #84 of 352. (View reference images.)
The Northern Illinois Huskies mascot, Victor E. Huskie, is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #83 of 352. The 2013 Northern Illinois football team (12-1) nearly qualified for a BCS bowl game again. The 2012 team (12-2) lost to Florida State in the 2013 Orange Bowl on New Year’s Day. (View reference images.)
William Penn Statesman – No. 703
The William Penn Statesmen mascot, Willy P., is NAIA pixel art mascot #2. William Penn University, located in Oskaloosa, Iowa, used Statesmen as both the nickname and mascot for its athletic teams from 1959-2000. In 2000, then-University President Thomas Boyd (1998-2003) donated a 400-pound bronze eagle sculpture and mandated a controversial transition to an eagle as the school’s mascot. Curiously, the Statesmen nickname was retained despite the eagle mascot. In 2011, eight years after Boyd’s departure, Elvis the eagle mascot was retired and a more traditional statesman mascot was reintroduced. (View reference images.)
My mom and stepdad have worked for William Penn University for many years. Being from Pennsylvania, I always found it strange that my mom managed to find the one school in Iowa that was named after the same wealthy Quaker guy who founded Pennsylvania. I took art classes at William Penn during high school and later remotely served as their webmaster from 2000-2003 (partly while attending Penn State University, oddly enough). So many Penns!