FBS Mascot Names

Nothing compares to the traditional pageantry of college games on Saturday afternoons in the fall. The fans and players alike a stirred into a frenzy just before game time and a big part of that centers around the mascot nickname of the school. This moniker identifies the University and the region it is in with some representation of their school spirit. We explore the FBS mascots in today's episode.

The Division I Football Bowl Subdivision or FBS of the National Collegiate Athletic Association currently has 130 member schools. Each one has its own unique traditions, legendary players and colors. However they don't all have unique mascot nicknames from each other. There are 96 different nicknames for the 130 schools in the FBS leaving us with the fact that over a couple of dozen share the same mascot name. SO what is the most popular FBS nickname? We let's come back to that in a minute. Let's first hear some of the most unique team names in the FBS.

In my opinion some of the best names are the ones that are the most different:

• Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
• Hawaii Rainbow Warriors
• Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
• Virginia Tech Hokies
• Purdue Boilermakers
• Florida State Seminoles
• Oklahoma Sooners
• Arizona State Sun Devils
• North Carolina Tar Heels
• Maryland Terrapins
• Marshall Thundering Herd
• Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks
• Akron Zips
• Penn State Nittany Lions
• Texas Longhorns
• North Texas Mean Green
• Navy Midshipmen
• UTEP Miners
• UMass Minutemen
• Old Dominion Monarchs
• Kansas Jayhawks
• New Mexico Lobos
• Iowa Hawkeyes
• Indiana Hoosiers
• TCU Horned Frogs
• Miami Hurricanes
• Tulane Green Wave
• South Carolina Gamecocks
• Florida Gators
• Alabama Crimson Tide
• Iowa State Cyclones
• Wake Forest Demon Deacons
• Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
• Colorado Buffaloes
• Central Michigan Chippewas
• Vanderbilt Commodores
• SMU Mustangs
• Nebraska Cornhuskers
• Ohio State Buckeyes
• Oregon State Beavers
• San Diego State Aztecs
• Wisconsin Badgers
• Cincinnati Bearcats
• Utah Utes
• Tennessee Volunteers
• Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks
• Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
• UTSA Roadrunners
• Syracuse Orange

These Universities are th only ones in the FBS with these nicknmaes but there ae other major sports clubs that brandish the same mascot.

• Charlotte 49ers
• Baylor Bears
• UAB Blazers
• UCLA Bruins
• Virginia Cavaliers
• Oregon Ducks
• Oklahoma State Cowboys
• Liberty Flames
• South Alabama Jaguars
• Colorado State Rams
• East Carolina Pirates
• Toledo Rockets
   

The next category of mascot names are the ones with the adjectives in front:

• Blue Devils of Duke
• Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee

• Fighting Illini of Illinois
• Fighting Irish of Notre Dame

• Golden Bears of California
• Golden Eagles of Southern Miss
• Golden Flashes of Kent State
• Golden Gophers of Minnesota
• Golden Hurricane of Tulsa

• Red Raiders from Texas Tech
• Red Wolves of Arkansas State
• RedHawks of Miami, Ohio

• Scarlet Knights of Rutgers
• Black Knights of Army

And of course there are this schools that share a commong mascot name with other colleges. The most commong as you may have guessed are Five schools that have the Tiger as their mascot followed close behind by the Widcats and Bulldogs with four teams each.

• New Mexico State Aggies
• Texas A&M Aggies
• Utah State Aggies

• Boise State Broncos
• Western Michigan Broncos

• Fresno State Bulldogs
• Georgia Bulldogs
• Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
• Mississippi State Bulldogs

• Buffalo Bulls
• South Florida Bulls

• Stanford Cardinal ( I know there isn't an "s" on the end but still the same bird)
• Ball State Cardinals
• Louisville Cardinals

• BYU Cougars
• Houston Cougars
• Washington State Cougars

• Oklahoma State Cowboys
• Wyoming Cowboys

• Boston College Eagles
• Eastern Michigan Eagles
• Georgia Southern Eagles

• Air Force Falcons
• Bowling Green Falcons

• Northern Illinois Huskies
• UConn Huskies
• Washington Huskies

• Appalachian State Mountaineers
• West Virginia Mountaineers

• Florida Atlantic Owls
• Rice Owls
• Temple Owls

• FIU Panthers
• Georgia State Panthers
• Pittsburgh Panthers

• Ole Miss Rebels
• UNLV Rebels

• Michigan State Spartans
• San Jose State Spartans

• Auburn Tigers
• Clemson Tigers
• LSU Tigers
• Memphis Tigers
• Missouri Tigers

• Troy Trojans
• USC Trojans

• Arizona Wildcats
• Kansas State Wildcats
• Kentucky Wildcats
• Northwestern Wildcats

• Nevada Wolf Pack
• NC State Wolfpack

The picture in the banner above and the Jayhawk Tower pic below were taken by Carol M. Highsmith and graciously shared on the U.S. Library of Congress website for all to enjoy.