The Pepperdine Waves mascot, Willie the Wave, is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #107 of 351. (View reference images.)
Note: This is NCAA Division I mascot #3 of 5 in celebration of the first week of the 2015 NCAA Tournament.
Akron Zip – No. 845
The Akron Zips mascot, a kangaroo named Zippy, is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #106 of 351. (View reference images.)
Note: This is NCAA Division I mascot #2 of 5 in celebration of the first week of the 2015 NCAA Tournament.
UC Irvine Anteater – No. 812
The UC Irvine Anteaters mascot, Peter the Anteater, is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #104 of 351. Dating to the 1960s, he was inspired by the anteater character from Johnny Hart’s B.C. comic strip. Zot, zot, zot. (View reference images.)
Note: University of California, Irvine is one of only a few DI schools for which I’ve created 8-bit mascots that don’t have football teams (the others include George Mason, Gonzaga, La Salle, Loyola Marymount, Saint Louis, VCU, Wichita State and Xavier). The Anteaters basketball team was good last year.
Xavier Musketeer – No. 720
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.)
Evergreen State Geoduck – No. 702
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.)
Western Kentucky Hilltopper – No. 684
The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers mascot, Big Red, is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #80 of 352. (View reference images.)
Dartmouth Big Green – No. 683
The Dartmouth Big Green mascot, an anthropomorphic beer keg named Keggy the Keg, is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #79 of 352. (View reference images.)
P.S. Happy Halloween! Hopefully your costume is as good as Dartmouth’s Keggy.
UC Santa Cruz Banana Slug – No. 682
The University of California, Santa Cruz Banana Slugs mascot is NCAA Division III pixel art mascot #1 of 449. (View reference images.)
Syracuse Orange – No. 636
The Syracuse Orangemen mascot is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #75 of 348. (View reference images.)
Saint Louis Billiken – No. 604
The Saint Louis Billikens mascot has appeared in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament each of the past two years, only to be eliminated in the Round of 32. What is a Billiken anyway? A white Grinch? It’s actually a charm doll invented by an art teacher. This is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #62 of 348. (View reference images.)
Wichita State Shocker – No. 601
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.)
Ohio State Buckeye – No. 20
The Ohio State Buckeyes mascot, Brutus Buckeye, is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #19 of 347. Big Ten mascot #9 of 11. (View reference images.)
Stanford Cardinal – No. 9
The Stanford Cardinal mascot, the unofficial Stanford Tree, is NCAA Division I mascot #8 of 347. Pac-10 mascot #8 of 10. (View reference images.)
