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Let’s talk mascots!

  • What is the point of a nickname or a mascot?
    • What are your guy's thoughts on the concept, have you met or been a mascot before?
  • What are our current university’s chosen mascots/nicknames

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Back when I started the Arthro-Pod blog I wrote a post about collegiate arthropod mascots

http://arthro-pod.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-insects-and-arachnids-of-college.html

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Arthropod mascots by the numbers

  • Overall: According to my Googling, there are about 41 universities in the US, Canada, and Mexico that use an arthropod as a mascot
  • Of these, nearly all are insects.
    • Only 3 come from Arachnida
  • As of yet, haven’t found any other types of arthropods (MiLB baseball has three crustaceans though)
    • Hickory Crawdads, Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, Jersey Shore Blue Claws

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Within the insects, we do see some slight diversity

  • Hymenoptera rules the roost: 1 ant, 17 yellowjackets, 12 hornets, 4 bees, 1 wasp, and 3 stinging wasps of indeterminate origin
    • Why do you think yellowjackets are the most common choice?
  • Two members of Coleoptera
  • One Dipteran representative
  • Couldn’t find any Lepidopterans, Hemipterans, or others

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We will discuss these by “species” as it were

  • Consider each logo or mascot, we will discuss each and also hopefully insult some of them
    • Are they scientifically accurate?
    • What are the cuteness or ferocity levels?
    • Are they unique?
  • At the end I want to give out three awards (and maybe tag the schools on twitter)
    • Best overall presentation
    • Most accurate insect
    • Most unique choice
    • Cutie pie award

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Yellowjackets

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Allen University�Columbia, SC

Historically black university

Over 600 students

School colors blue and gold

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American International College�Springfield, MA

Private liberal arts college

Around 2,000 total students

School colors black and yellow

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Baldwin-Wallace University�Berea, OH

Private liberal arts college

Over 3,500 total students

School colors brown and gold

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Black Hills State�Spearfish, SD

Public university

Over 4,000 total students

School colors green and gold

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Cedarville University�Cedarville, OH

Private Baptist university

Over 4,000 total students

School colors blue and gold

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Defiance College�Defiance, OH

Private college

Over 500 total students

School colors purple and gold

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Georgia Institute of Technology�Atlanta, GA

Public research university

About 36,000

School colors gold and white

Unique because they are the yellowjackets, Buzz is a mascot, but official mascot is actually “The Ramblin’ Wreck” a gold 1930 Ford Model A sports coup

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Graceland University�Lamoni, IA

Private religious university

Over 1,700 total students

School colors blue and gold

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Howard Payne University�Brownwood, TX

Private Baptist university

Over 1,100 total students

School colors blue and gold

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Letourneau University�Longview, TX

Private religious university

Over 3,000 total students

School colors blue and gold

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Montana State-Billings�Billings, MT

Public university

About 4,000 total students

School colors blue and yellow

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Randolph-Macon College�Ashland, VA

Private liberal arts college

Over 1,500 total students

School colors black and lemon

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Rochester Community and Technical College�Rochester, MN

Public community college

Over 8,000 total students

School colors navy and gold

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University of Rochester �Rochester, NY

Public research university

Over 12,000 total students

School colors yellow and blue

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Waynesburg University�Waynesburg, PA

Private university

Around 1,800 total students

School colors orange and black

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West Virginia State University�Institute, WV

Historically black land grant university

Over 3,700 total students

School colors black and gold

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University of Wisconsin-Superior�Superior, WI

Public liberal arts university

Over 2,500 total students

School colors black and gold

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Hornets

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Alabama State University�Montgomery, AL

Public HBCU

Over 5,400 total students

School colors black and gold

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Delaware State University�Dover, DE

HBCU land grant university

Around 5,600 total students

School colors blue and red

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Emporia State University�Emporia, KS

Public university

Around 5,600 total students

School colors gold and black

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Fullerton College�Fullerton, CA

Public community college

Around 21,000 total students

School colors blue and gold

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Harris-Stowe State University�St. Louis, MO

Public HBCU

Around 1,600 total students

School colors brown and gold

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Kalamazoo College�Kalamazoo, MI

Private liberal arts college

Over 1,400 total students

School colors orange and black

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University of Lynchburg�Lynchburg, VA

Private religious university

Around 2,800 total students

School colors crimson and silver

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Morris College�Sumter, SC

Private HBCU

Over 500 total students

School colors blue and gold

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Northern Vermont-Lyndon State�Lyndon, VT

Public and merged universities

Over 1,100 total students

School colors green and gold

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California State University Sacramento�Sacramento, CA

Public university

Over 31,000 total students

School colors green and gold

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Shenandoah University�Winchester, VA

Private university

Over 2,200 total students

School colors red and blue

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SUNY-Broome�Broome Co., NY

Public community college

Over 6,500 total students

School colors yellow and black

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Bees

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University of Baltimore

Baltimore, MD

Public university

Over 3,000 total students

School colors blue

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Universidad de Guanajuato

Guanajuato, Mexico

Public university

Over 30,500 total students

School colors yellow and black

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Savannah College of Arts & Design�Savannah, GA

Private, not for profit, art school

Over 14,000 total students

School colors gold and black

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St. Ambrose University

Davenport, IA

Private Catholic university

Over 3,500 total students

School colors blue and white

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“Stingers”

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Concordia University

Montreal, QC

Public comprehensive research university

Over 46,000 total students

School colors maroon, gold, black, white

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Florence-Darlington Tech

Florence, SC

Two year community college

Over 5,600 total students

School colors blue and gold

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The Sting

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Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology

Toronto, ON

Public multi campus university

Over 30,000 total students

School colors red

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Wasps

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Emory & Henry College

Emory, VA

Private liberal art college

Over 1,200 total students

School colors blue and gold

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Boll weevils

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University of Arkansas-Monticello

Monticello, AR

Public university

Over 3,900 total students

School colors green and white

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Enterprise State Community College

Enterprise, AL

Public community college

Over 900 total students

School colors green and white

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Fire ants

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University of South Carolina Sumter

Sumter, SC

Public college, part of the SC system

Over 1,000 total students

School colors garnet and white

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Black Flies

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College of the Atlantic

Bar Harbor, ME

Private liberal art college

Over 350 total students

Don’t really have an athletic program

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Scorpions

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Nevada State College

Henderson, NV

Public college

Over 4,200 total students

School colors black and gold

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Texas Southmost College

Brownsville, TX

Public junior college

School colors blue and orange

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Spiders

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University of Richmond

Richmond, VA

Private liberal art college

Over 4,300 total students

School colors red and blue