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College Dog Mascots: The Wild Stories Behind Uga, Reveille, Smokey & More

PerfectDogNames · September 14, 2026 · 18 min read

Meet America's most famous college dog mascots — Handsome Dan, Uga, Reveille, Smokey, Dubs, Tuffy and more — and the strange traditions behind them.

An English bulldog sitting outdoors, the classic college mascot breed
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Last updated: September 15, 2026

Plenty of schools put a dog on the helmet. A much smaller group keeps an actual one on the payroll, and those are the college dog mascots worth writing about — animals with Roman numerals, succession ceremonies, caretaker families, veterinary teams, and in one case a military rank that outranks the student commanding the Corps of Cadets.

The funny part is the gap between the two halves of the arrangement. Universities build enormous ceremony around these animals: collaring ceremonies, harness handoffs, marble vaults inside the stadium, bronze statues. The animals are mostly interested in shade, snacks, and whether the tuba section is going to settle down.

What follows is a guide to the live college dog mascots still working in 2026, the generations that came before them, and the genuinely strange history that accumulates when a school decides a dog is an office rather than a pet. It also covers a distinction that trips up a lot of readers: several famous "dog mascots" are costumes now, and have been for decades.

Famous Live College Dog Mascots at a Glance

Mascot University Breed Current dog Tradition began
Handsome Dan Yale Olde English Bulldogge Handsome Dan XIX (Kingman) 1889
Uga Georgia English Bulldog Uga XI (Boom), since April 2023 1956
Bully Mississippi State English Bulldog Bully XXII (Dak), since April 2023 1935
Reveille Texas A&M Rough Collie Reveille X, since 2021 1931
Smokey Tennessee Bluetick Coonhound Smokey XII (Neyland), debuted April 2026 1953
Jonathan UConn Siberian Husky Jonathan XV, since February 2024 1935
Dubs Washington Alaskan Malamute Dubs II, since 2019 1922
Tuffy NC State Tamaskan Tuffy III, since 2021 2010
Mission Northern Illinois Siberian Husky Mission III, since November 2023 2013
Griff Drake English Bulldog Griff III (Gus), since May 2026 2015
Jack Georgetown English Bulldog Current Jack, arrived January 2024 1962
Victor E. Bulldog Fresno State English Bulldog Victor E. Bulldog IV, since April 2023 1921
Bullseye ("G4") The Citadel English Bulldog General Bullseye, since January 2025 1928
Blue Butler English Bulldog Blue IV (stepped back from public appearances in February 2026; search underway for Blue V) 2000

Yale's Handsome Dan: The First Famous College Dog Mascot

The whole genre starts in New Haven. In 1889, an undergraduate named Andrew B. Graves, Class of 1892 — a rower and football player, not a blacksmith, despite how the story sometimes gets retold — spotted a bulldog outside a local shop. According to Yale tradition, he bought the dog from a New Haven blacksmith for five dollars and named him Handsome Dan. [1][2]

Dan I was walked across the field before football and baseball games, and Yale is widely regarded as the first American university with a live animal mascot; the university dates continuous bulldog representation to at least 1890. [3] Contemporary reports enjoyed him enormously. The Philadelphia Press recorded that his best trick was responding to the command "Speak to Harvard," at which point he would work himself into a rage no dog had previously attempted.

Graves eventually moved to England and took the dog with him in 1897. Dan died there in 1898, was taxidermied, and was shipped back to Yale. He is still on display, sealed in a glass case at Payne Whitney Gymnasium. His successor kept the habit: Handsome Dan II can be found in his own case at the Yale Visitor Center, where he watches campus tours depart. [4][5]

Two kidnappings, both badly misremembered

Dan II is also the subject of the most famous mascot theft in American college sports. In 1934, editors of the Harvard Lampoon took him from New Haven to Cambridge. There they smeared hamburger on the base of the John Harvard statue and photographed the Yale mascot appearing to lick the founder's boots. The pictures ran in newspapers across the country. The hamburger did not appear in any of them. [6][7]

Forty-five years later, Princeton students ran a better con. In 1979, four undergraduates posed as Yale cheerleaders and asked Professor Rolin Osterweis if they could borrow Handsome Dan XII for an hour to shoot photos for a football program. Osterweis handed over the dog, a leash, and some biscuits. He later called them "ingenious."

When the students called from a payphone to say the dog would be out of town for a few days, Osterweis warned them they were about to take stolen property across a state line and that he would have to report them. He then reported the matter only to Yale authorities, explaining that he was confident Princeton undergraduates would be kind to her: "Most undergraduates, I suspect, are likely to be kinder to dogs than to their fellow undergraduates."

He was right. Dan XII toured the eating clubs, attended football practice, slept at an emeritus dean's house, and appeared at Palmer Stadium at halftime in an orange-and-black scarf. Princeton's mascot handed her back to the Yale cheerleaders after the game, which Yale won 35-10. She came home, in Osterweis's words, "happy and looking fat as a pig." [7]

Two details usually get lost. There was no FBI involvement — that claim circulates widely and the Princeton University Archives account does not support it. And Handsome Dan XII, known at home as Bingo, was Yale's first female Handsome Dan. [7]

The breed switch

The modern line looks different from the old one. Handsome Dan XVIII, a white-and-brindle dog named Walter who arrived in 2016, was the first Olde English Bulldogge to hold the title; every Dan before him was an English Bulldog. The change was deliberate. Chris Getman, who handled four Handsome Dans across 33 years, had recommended the switch, and Yale's own reasoning was blunt: the Olde English Bulldogge is a healthier, hardier, longer-lived alternative. [8]

Handsome Dan XIX — Kingman, named for former Yale president Kingman Brewster Jr. — was born January 2, 2021, chosen from a litter of nine by handler Kassandra Haro, and introduced that March. He is Walter's nephew. [1][3]

Georgia's Uga and the Bulldog Dynasty

If Yale invented the office, Georgia perfected the logistics.

The Uga line began in 1956, when a solid white English Bulldog was gifted to Frank "Sonny" and Cecelia Seiler of Savannah. The Seiler family has owned and cared for every Uga since. [9][10]

Georgia's commitment is not rhetorical. Each Uga is awarded a varsity letter in plaque form, identical to the one presented to athletes who letter in their sports. His jersey is cut from the same fabric as the players' game jerseys. He has an air-conditioned doghouse at Sanford Stadium and typically sits on or near bags of ice, because English Bulldogs and Georgia humidity are a poor combination. And, as Georgia Athletics notes, the university is the only major college that buries its mascots inside the stadium — Ugas I through VIII rest in marble vaults near the main gate, with bronze epitaphs. Fans leave flowers before home games. [9]

Uga V is the one everyone has seen, even if they don't know it. On November 16, 1996, in the 100th meeting between Georgia and Auburn, receiver Robert Baker caught a first-quarter touchdown and his momentum carried him toward the Georgia sideline. Uga V, startled by the noise and turned away, spun and lunged. Handler Charles Seiler had the leash short. The photograph became the defining image of the rivalry. [11][12]

The following April 28, Uga V landed on the cover of Sports Illustrated, named the nation's best college mascot — an epitaph his tomb still carries. He also appeared in Clint Eastwood's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, filmed in his hometown of Savannah, where he played his own father, Uga IV. [9][11]

Uga X, known as Que, had the other viral moment. Before the January 1, 2019 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, handlers positioned Uga and Texas longhorn Bevo XV for a pregame photo. Bevo went through the barricades. Uga bolted. "I had him turned around," Seiler told ESPN afterward. "He heard it and he didn't wait. He ran. And I ran." Nobody was seriously hurt, though a photographer got scraped by a horn, and the photo op eventually happened with Bevo facing the stands. [13]

Que retired as the winningest Uga in program history. Uga XI, called Boom, received the spiked collar in a pregame ceremony at the G-Day spring game on April 15, 2023, at nine months old, and made his regular-season debut that September. [9][10]

Mississippi State's Bully: A Funeral Fit for a Mascot

The single strangest thing any American university has done for a dog happened in Starkville in 1939.

Mississippi State's bulldog tradition began in 1935 with a dog named Ptolemy — "Tol" — acquired by coach Ralph Sasse. After State beat Army 13-7 at West Point, a littermate of Tol was named Bully I. [14][15]

In 1939, a campus bus killed him. What followed was not a quiet burial. Bully I lay in state in a glass coffin while students filed past for days. Then a half-mile funeral procession, escorted by the Famous Maroon Band and three ROTC battalions, made its way to Scott Field, where he was buried under the bench at the 50-yard line. LIFE magazine covered it. [14][15]

Later Bullys have been buried by campus dorms, at fraternity houses, and at the stadium. For decades Bully was also a standing target for rival students; the last kidnapping came before the 1974 State–Ole Miss game. State won anyway, 31-13. [15]

Today the succession is formalized. Each new Bully inherits the title in a Passing of the Harness ceremony, typically held during Super Bulldog Weekend. The current mascot, Bully XXII, is an English Bulldog named Dak after quarterback Dak Prescott. He took the harness at halftime of the spring game on April 15, 2023, succeeding Jak, Bully XXI. [16][17]

Reveille: The Highest-Ranking Dog at Texas A&M

Texas A&M is where the bureaucracy stops being a joke and becomes an actual command structure.

The tradition dates to January 1931, when cadets returning from Navasota hit a small black-and-white dog with their car. They brought her back to campus and hid her, since pets were banned. The next morning a bugler played "Reveille," the dog barked furiously, and the cadets were caught. She was named for the wake-up call and made official mascot that football season. [18]

Reveille X, a sable-and-white Rough Collie born in September 2019, assumed the role in 2021. Every Reveille since Reveille III has been a Rough Collie. [18]

The details that sound invented are real:

  • Miss Rev is the highest-ranking member of the Corps of Cadets. She is the only member who wears five silver diamonds. The Corps commander wears four.
  • Cadets address her as "Miss Rev, ma'am."
  • If she falls asleep on a cadet's bed, the cadet sleeps elsewhere.
  • Aggie legend holds that if she barks in class, the professor may dismiss the class — though the university is careful to note this is tradition, not policy. [18]

Her care falls to Company E-2, the Corps outfit known as the Mascot Company, which has looked after Reveille since 1959. Her primary handler is a sophomore called the mascot corporal, chosen each spring after a semester-long tryout that involves researching the tradition and delivering a series of speeches about the previous Reveilles. The job is close to total: the corporal takes her to class, escorts her to every university function, and takes her home for holidays. Cadet Trent Ford, Class of 2029, was named mascot corporal for 2026-27. [19][20]

Former Reveilles are buried at the north end of Kyle Field, facing the scoreboard so they can watch the Aggies score. In March 2023, after a years-long effort, a bronze statue of Reveille was dedicated in Kyle Field Plaza beside those graves — six feet long, one paw raised mid-stride, on a base of six circles representing both the Aggie Core Values and the dogs who have held the title. Reveille X attended. So did Reveille IX. [21][22]

Tennessee's Smokey Has the Best Rap Sheet

No mascot line has generated more incident reports than Tennessee's. The trick is keeping the dogs straight, because the anecdotes get shuffled constantly.

The tradition started in 1953 with a student contest whose only stated requirement was that the winner be a "Houn' Dog" in the best sense of the word. At halftime of the Mississippi State game on September 26, candidates were paraded on the field. The last one introduced, Rev. Bill Brooks's Bluetick Coonhound, barked when his name was called. The crowd cheered. He howled louder. They cheered louder. Tennessee had a mascot. [23]

Here is the chronology, assigned correctly:

  • Smokey II (1955-63) — Kidnapped by University of Kentucky students in 1955 and held for eight days. They dressed him in a blue-and-white blanket with a large K and paraded him at a Kentucky pep rally, returning him just before kickoff. Two years later he tangled with Baylor's live bear, Judge, at the 1957 Sugar Bowl and survived. [23][24]
  • Smokey VI (1984-91) — Suffered heat exhaustion during the 1991 UCLA game, when on-field temperatures reportedly hit 140 degrees. He was placed on Tennessee's injury report until he recovered later in the season. [23][24]
  • Smokey VII (1992-94) — The renegade. He nipped the same Pride of the Southland Band member repeatedly in 1994 and was retired early over temperament. [23][25]
  • Smokey VIII (1995-2003) — The winningest of the line, and the one with the best medical story. On the trip to the Fiesta Bowl that closed the 1998 season — played in January 1999, where Tennessee beat Florida State for the national championship — handlers noticed he was off. A vet in Tempe found an obstruction: he had eaten a hotel washcloth. He led the team onto the field anyway. The washcloth came out after the game. [25][26]
  • Smokey IX (2004-12) — The disputed one. During 2006 pregame warmups, Alabama receiver Mike McCoy went out of bounds and fell onto Smokey. Alabama coach Mike Shula said afterward that the dog bit his player; Smokey's owner disputed the severity, saying the hound got a mouthful of uniform without breaking skin. The argument has never been settled. (For the record, Nick Saban was not Alabama's coach at the time.) [25][26]
  • Also during Smokey IX's tenure: the American Kennel Club granted the Bluetick Coonhound full recognition in 2009, making a working coonhound breed with a Saturday job an official show breed. [26][27]
  • Smokey XI (2023-25) — Retired in November 2025. Tennessee's announcement was unusually candid: despite two years of work by handlers, trainers, and his veterinary team, his reserved temperament kept affecting his comfort in public. He stepped away immediately, for his well-being, to live with his brother, his father Smokey X, and the Hudson family. [28]
  • Smokey XII (2026-) — A two-year-old Bluetick Coonhound named Neyland, found through word of mouth in the East Tennessee bluetick rescue community after his original owners could no longer care for him. He is the first rescue dog to hold the position. He made his official debut on April 11, 2026, at the Orange and White spring game, running through the Power T. [29][30]

Huskies, Malamutes and Wolves That Aren't Wolves

Bulldogs dominate the category, but the northern breeds have their own quirks — mostly involving nicknames that don't quite match the animal.

Jonathan XV at UConn is a purebred Siberian Husky, born in Ontario in April 2023 and brought to Storrs that June. He took over in a "Changing of the Collar" ceremony at center court in Gampel Pavilion in February 2024, with Jonathan XIV moving to emeritus status. The dogs are cared for by the Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity alongside a local host family — an arrangement in place since 1970. [31][32]

Dubs II at Washington is not a Siberian Husky at all. He is an Alaskan Malamute, and Washington picked the breed on purpose: the Malamute is the largest and strongest of the husky-type breeds. Born January 4, 2018, he became official mascot in 2019. Washington has had live mascots since Frosty I in 1922, and unlike Georgia's line, each Dubs comes from a separate family tree to avoid inbreeding. [33]

Tuffy III at NC State is a Tamaskan — a breed developed from German Shepherd, Alaskan Malamute and Siberian Husky stock to look convincingly wolfish without being a wolf. That is precisely the point for a school called the Wolfpack. Tuffy III, a direct descendant of Tuffy I, debuted in 2021 at four months old after Tuffy II died of a heart condition. [34][35]

Mission III at Northern Illinois is a Siberian Husky from a British Columbia breeder, introduced in January 2023 as a three-month-old puppy. He received the collar from Mission II at a home football game in November 2023, after his predecessor retired early because of severe skin allergies. He lives with NIU's head mascot trainer, whose training regimen includes gun ranges (for fireworks), a speedway (for crowd noise), and children's parks (for children). [36][37]

More Live College Dog Mascots

Georgetown's Jack the Bulldog is where a lot of articles go wrong, because several dogs have held the name. The famously skateboarding Jack arrived in October 2013 and retired in summer 2019; his successor served from fall 2019 until his death in July 2023. The current Jack, born in central California in July 2023, arrived on the Hilltop in January 2024 — and while Georgetown says his signature move is still being determined, he has shown a real proclivity for a skateboard. A student group called the Jack Crew walks him, and students have to apply to join. [38][39]

Drake's Griff changed hands this spring. Griff II, who had served since July 2020 and was known around Des Moines as the city's hometown dog, retired in a "Changing of the Harness" ceremony at Old Main in May 2026. President Marty Martin lifted the old harness and fitted a custom one on Griff III, a one-year-old English Bulldog whose everyday name is Gus. Griff II made one last appearance at commencement, graduating alongside the Class of 2026. [40][41]

Fresno State's Victor E. Bulldog IV took the collar on April 16, 2023. Fresno State is the only campus in the California State University system with a live mascot, and the program is funded entirely by donations. The line's most painful chapter came in March 2015, when Victor E. Bulldog II died of severe anaphylactic shock after being stung by a bee. He was a month short of his third birthday and had attended hundreds of university events. [42][43]

The Citadel's live mascot is now General Bullseye — Bullseye, or G4 — a purebred English Bulldog who officially took over on January 1, 2025, succeeding G3. He is named for the brown spot at the base of his otherwise white coat. A team of cadet handlers under Regimental Staff cares for him around the clock. Any article still listing Boo as The Citadel's current bulldog is out of date. [44][45]

Butler Blue IV is the one to watch. He took over in a Passing of the Collar ceremony in February 2020, but in February 2026 Butler announced he would no longer make public appearances — the university citing the year-round demands of the job and the animal's well-being, and Blue IV's own social accounts putting it more directly: he was dog-tired. Butler has begun searching for Blue V and, as of May 2026, for a new handler as well. [46][47]

Michigan State's Zeke the Wonder Dog is a different kind of job: a frisbee-catching performance dog and goodwill ambassador rather than the official mascot, a role Sparty holds. Zeke IV, a red English Labrador called Buckshot, served from December 2016 until his death from a rare cancer on February 28, 2026, at age 11. The Foley family, who have handled Zeke II, III and IV, announced that Zeke V would follow. [48][49]

Tulsa's Goldie is frequently described as the school's mascot. She isn't. When the first Goldie, a Golden Retriever puppy, arrived in 2013, the university was explicit that Captain 'Cane remained the athletics mascot and that Goldie would serve as a canine ambassador — leading the team walk, retrieving kicking tees, and visiting nursing homes, hospitals and schools. The program outlived her: Goldie II was introduced in October 2021 and "graduated" with the Class of 2025, and Goldie III came to campus on February 3, 2026. [50][51]

When the "Dog Mascot" Isn't Actually a Dog

Several schools with famous dog mascots have not kept a live one in decades. This is worth knowing before you plan a trip around meeting one.

Gonzaga's Spike is a costume. Gonzaga did use live bulldogs for much of the twentieth century, with names like Bullet, Chesty and Salty — the last of whom charged the court during a 1960s game against Idaho and bit a referee, which got the school into Sports Illustrated under less flattering circumstances than it might have hoped. Student mascots took over in 1980 with Captain Zag, and in 1985 the sports information director mail-ordered a $500 bulldog suit and held tryouts. Spike has been a person ever since. [52][53]

Boston University's Rhett is a costume, and has been since 1983. BU students voted in November 1922 to adopt the Boston Terrier, and real terriers appeared at athletic events for decades under names including Pep, Kappa, Danny, Gulliver and Fumbles. The costumed Rhett debuted at a home football game in November 1983 and is now the mascot people mean. [54][55]

Wofford runs both, and the names are easy to mix up. Boss the Terrier is the costumed mascot, alongside his counterpart Terri. The live dog is a separate line of Boston Terriers named Blitz — most recently Blitz III, formerly Magnolia, chosen by blind vote of students, faculty and fans and installed for the 2014 season. She leads the Terrier Walk before home football games. [56]

Southern Illinois belongs in this section with a caveat. The Saluki has been SIU's emblem since 1951, chosen partly because the region is nicknamed Little Egypt, and real Salukis have appeared at the university over the years, including through a formal partnership with the Saluki Club of America. But the mascots on SIU's official spirit squad roster are Grey Dawg and Brown Dawg, and they are costumed. Don't confuse the two. [57]

What Happens When a Mascot Retires?

The succession machinery is the part outsiders underestimate, and it has gotten noticeably more careful.

Almost every program now has a named handoff ritual — Georgia's passing of the collar, Mississippi State's Passing of the Harness, Butler and UConn's Changing of the Collar, Drake's Changing of the Harness, Fresno State's changing of the collar. These are staged at spring games and halftimes, with the outgoing dog present. The point is continuity: coaches leave, players transfer, but the dog's storyline can be planned years out.

The selection process is equally deliberate. Yale temperament-tests candidates for tolerance of loud bands and large groups of children. Tennessee's Smokey search involved specialists in veterinary behavior, animal welfare and animal-assisted intervention. NIU's trainer spends a year acclimating a puppy to fireworks, traffic, crowds and strangers rushing at him.

And the programs are now willing to stop. Smokey XI is the clearest modern example. Tennessee had a healthy, well-trained dog in the role and retired him in November 2025 anyway, because two years of effort had not made public appearances comfortable for him. The university said so plainly rather than quietly reducing his schedule. [28]

Butler made a similar call three months later with Blue IV. Yale's move to the Olde English Bulldogge reflects the same instinct applied further upstream: a breed less likely to struggle with heat and breathing is a better fit for stadium life than one bred toward extreme conformation. [8][46]

Ranks and harnesses are theater, and good theater. Heat stroke isn't. The programs that have lasted longest are the ones that figured out the title can outlive the dog without outranking him.


Inspired by the sidelines? Browse dog names by breed, including Bulldog, Collie, Husky, Coonhound and Retriever names.


FAQ About College Dog Mascots

What college has the oldest live dog mascot tradition? Yale. Handsome Dan I arrived in 1889 and is widely regarded as the first live animal mascot in American college athletics; Yale dates continuous bulldog representation to at least 1890. The distinction between those two dates depends on whether you're talking about the dog's arrival or his formal recognition as the Yale mascot. [3]

What is the oldest college dog mascot line still running? Yale's, for the same reason — though the line was interrupted for 35 years after Dan I died in 1898, because nobody had yet thought of the idea of a successor. Texas A&M's Reveille (1931) and Mississippi State's Bully (1935) are the oldest continuous American lines after it. [14][18]

What college mascot holds a five-diamond rank? Reveille X at Texas A&M. She is the highest-ranking member of the Corps of Cadets and the only member who wears five silver diamonds; the Corps commander wears four. [18]

What breed is Tennessee's Smokey? A Bluetick Coonhound. The breed received full American Kennel Club recognition in 2009, more than half a century after Tennessee adopted one. [26][27]

Is Washington's Dubs actually a Husky? No. Dubs II is an Alaskan Malamute. Washington chose the breed deliberately, describing it as the largest and strongest of the husky breeds. [33]

What breed is Georgia's Uga? A solid white English Bulldog. Every Uga since 1956 has come from the same Savannah line, owned and raised by the Seiler family. [9]

Which colleges still have live dog mascots? As of September 2026: Yale, Georgia, Mississippi State, Texas A&M, Tennessee, UConn, Washington, NC State, Northern Illinois, Drake, Georgetown, Fresno State, The Citadel and Wofford, among others. Butler's program is between dogs. Gonzaga, Boston University and Southern Illinois use costumed mascots today despite historic live-dog traditions.


Sources

Current mascot identities and roles were verified against university or athletics sources and updated in September 2026.

  1. Yale University Visitor Center — Introducing Handsome Dan — https://visitorcenter.yale.edu/handsome-dan
  2. It's Your Yale — "The Dogs of Yale" — https://your.yale.edu/youryale/2023-05-01-the-dogs-of-yale
  3. YaleNews — "Meet Handsome Dan XIX" — https://news.yale.edu/2021/03/18/meet-handsome-dan-xix
  4. Yale Daily News — "Handsome Dans of yesteryear" — https://yaledailynews.com/articles/handsome-dans-of-yesteryear
  5. NCAA.com — "How Yale got the nickname 'Bulldogs': The true story" — https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2022-07-07/how-yale-got-nickname-bulldogs-true-story
  6. The Harvard Crimson — "John Harvard" (1952) — https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1952/11/18/john-harvard-pon-the-eve-of/
  7. Princeton University Archives — "Kidnapping Handsome Dan XII" — https://universityarchives.princeton.edu/2016/04/kidnapping-handsome-dan-xii/
  8. Yale Daily News — "Inside the search for Kingman, Handsome Dan XIX" — https://yaledailynews.com/articles/he-was-meant-to-be-handsome-dan-inside-the-search-for-kingman-handsome-dan-xix
  9. University of Georgia Athletics — History of Uga — https://georgiadogs.com/uga
  10. UGA Gamechangers — Uga XI — https://gamechangers.uga.edu/profile/boom/
  11. The Red & Black — "Beloved Bulldogs: Uga through the years" — https://www.redandblack.com/sports/beloved-bulldogs-uga-through-the-years/article_95f386f8-e040-11ed-ab33-7fcaedf0bbe8.html
  12. The Red & Black — "For three figures of famous 'Uga V bites at Auburn player' photo, different lives follow" — https://www.redandblack.com/sports/for-three-figures-of-famous-uga-v-bites-at-auburn-player-photo-different-lives-follow/article_db6c0480-a75d-11e6-a10c-93a69d93e9a8.html
  13. ESPN — "Texas mascot Bevo XV charges at Georgia's Uga X before Sugar Bowl" — https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/25664318/texas-mascot-bevo-xv-charges-georgia-uga-x-sugar-bowl
  14. Mississippi State Athletics — Traditions — https://hailstate.com/sports/2025/6/3/traditions
  15. MSU Alumni Association — "'Bully' The Bulldog" — https://www.alumni.msstate.edu/bully-bulldog
  16. Mississippi State University — "Meet MSU's newest mascot 'Dak' (Bully XXII)" — https://www.msstate.edu/newsroom/article/2023/03/meet-msus-newest-mascot-dak-bully-xxii-during-sbw
  17. Mississippi State University — Dak, Bully XXII — https://www.msstate.edu/about/traditions/dak-bully-xxii
  18. Texas A&M University — Reveille — https://www.tamu.edu/campus-community/traditions/aggie-culture/reveille.html
  19. Texas A&M Stories — "Texas A&M Selects Newest Handler For Reveille X" — https://stories.tamu.edu/news/2023/04/20/texas-am-selects-newest-handler-for-reveille-x/
  20. KBTX — "Corps of Cadets names new handler for Reveille X" (April 2026) — https://www.kbtx.com/2026/04/13/corps-cadets-names-new-handler-reveille-x/
  21. Texas A&M Stories — "Texas A&M Unveils Reveille Statue In Front Of Kyle Field" — https://stories.tamu.edu/news/2023/03/06/texas-am-unveils-reveille-statue-in-front-of-kyle-field/
  22. Texas A&M Galveston — Reveille tradition — https://www.tamug.edu/stuact/traditions/Reveille.html
  23. University of Tennessee Torchbearer — "10 Tales about 10 Tails" — https://torchbearer.utk.edu/2019/07/10-tales-about-10-tails/
  24. WBIR — "10 fun facts about Smokey" — https://www.wbir.com/article/news/local/10-fun-facts-about-smokey/51-184419735
  25. WVLT — "A look back at 65 years of Smokey" — https://www.wvlt.tv/content/news/A-look-back-at-65-years-of-Smokey-498228631.html
  26. WATE — "Everything you need to know about the University of Tennessee's Smokey" — https://www.wate.com/sports/orange-and-white-nation/mascot-day-everything-you-need-to-know-about-university-of-tennessees-smokey/
  27. American Kennel Club — Bluetick Coonhound — https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/bluetick-coonhound/
  28. University of Tennessee — "Smokey XI to Retire" (Nov. 24, 2025) — https://news.utk.edu/2025/11/24/smokey-xi-to-retire/
  29. University of Tennessee — "Smokey XII Joins the Tennessee Volunteer Family" (March 2026) — https://news.utk.edu/2026/03/26/smokey-xii-joins-the-tennessee-volunteer-family/
  30. Tennessee Athletics — Smokey XII — https://utsports.com/sports/spirit/roster/smokey-xii/23722
  31. UConn Today — "With the 'Changing of the Collar,' Jonathan XV Becoming UConn's Top Dog" — https://today.uconn.edu/2024/02/with-the-changing-of-the-collar-jonathan-xv-becoming-uconns-top-dog/
  32. UConn Magazine — "UConn Nation Welcomes Jonathan XV" — https://magazine.uconn.edu/2023/10/24/uconn-nation-welcomes-jonathan-xv/
  33. University of Washington — Dubs — https://www.washington.edu/docs/dubs-demo
  34. NC State Athletics — Tuffy III — https://gopack.com/sports/2026/5/9/tuffy-iii
  35. NC State Magazine — "Puppy Love" — https://magazine.ncsu.edu/2021/puppy-love/
  36. NIU Today — "Mission III joins the Huskie Nation as NIU's new mascot" — https://niutoday.info/2023/01/31/mission-iii-joins-the-huskie-nation-as-nius-new-mascot/
  37. Northern Star — "Mission II officially passes collar to Mission III" — https://northernstar.info/110692/news/mission-ii-officially-passes-collar-to-mission-iii/
  38. Georgetown University — Jack the Bulldog — https://www.georgetown.edu/jack-the-bulldog/
  39. Georgetown University — "A New Jack the Bulldog Is Coming to Georgetown" — https://www.georgetown.edu/news/a-new-jack-the-bulldog-is-coming-to-georgetown/
  40. Drake University — Live Mascot — https://www.drake.edu/livemascot
  41. Drake University Newsroom — "A New Era: Griff II Passes the Harness to Griff III" (May 2026) — https://news.drake.edu/2026/05/08/a-new-era-griff-ii-passes-the-harness-to-griff-iii-drakes-new-live-mascot/
  42. Fresno State Athletics — "Fresno State Mascot Victor E. II Passes" — https://gobulldogs.com/news/2015/3/12/Fresno_State_Mascot_Victor_E_II_Passes
  43. Fresno State Alumni Association — Victor E. Bulldog — https://alumni.fresnostate.edu/victor-e-bulldog.html
  44. The Citadel — Citadel Live Mascot Team — https://www.citadel.edu/cadetactivities/the-citadel-mascot/
  45. The Citadel Today — Homecoming 2024 (G4 announcement) — https://today.citadel.edu/alumni-return-to-the-citadel-for-homecoming-2024-celebrating-milestone-reunions/
  46. The Butler Collegian — "Blue IV steps away from public appearances, search beginning for replacement" — https://thebutlercollegian.com/2026/02/blue-iv-steps-away-from-public-appearances-search-beginning-for-replacement/
  47. Axios Indianapolis — "Butler University's opening is a dream job for dog lovers" — https://www.axios.com/local/indianapolis/2026/05/13/butler-university-hiring-bulldog-live-mascot-handler
  48. The State News — "Zeke 'Buckshot' The Wonder Dog IV, dies at 11" — https://statenews.com/article/2026/03/zeke-buckshot-the-wonder-dog-iv-dies-at-11
  49. The Detroit News — "Michigan State's Zeke (IV) the Wonderdog dies" — https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/college/michigan-state-university/2026/03/02/michigan-state-spartans-zeke-iv-the-wonderdog-dies/88943977007/
  50. The University of Tulsa — Goldie, UTulsa's canine ambassador — https://utulsa.edu/news-events/goldie/
  51. Tulsa World — "University of Tulsa to debut new 'dog ambassador' for football games" — https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/education/university-of-tulsa-to-debut-new-dog-ambassador-for-football-games/article_1b6e7071-dd06-5af6-9fb8-dc69d0e4c264.html
  52. Gonzaga University — "Life of Spike: The Story of Gonzaga's Mascot" — https://www.gonzaga.edu/news-events/stories/2023/3/3/spike-gonzaga-mascot
  53. Gonzaga Athletics — Mascot — https://gozags.com/sports/2018/6/12/ot-mascot-html
  54. Boston University Alumni — BU Mascot Name History — https://www.bu.edu/alumni/files/2020/09/BU-Mascot-Name-History.pdf
  55. BU Today — "Rhett the Terrier, through the Years" — https://www.bu.edu/articles/2018/rhett-the-terrier-bu-mascot/
  56. Wofford College Athletics — "Wofford welcomes new live Boston terrier mascot" — https://woffordterriers.com/news/2014/5/14/MKTP_0514140304
  57. Southern Illinois University Athletics — Saluki Spirit Teams — https://siusalukis.com/sports/2016/6/12/ot-spirit-groups-html


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