7 Best & 7 Worst College Mascots You Will See During March Madness

We rank the 7 best college mascots and the 7 worst college mascots that you will see during March Madness. This is the real competition!

March Madness 2023 is just around the corner. Your March Madness bracket predictions are most likely well underway and your attention might even be turning to which college you’ll be placing a wager on this year. But what about the best college mascot?

We all have that one representative every year that we cheer on from the stands or from our sofas. Whether it’s an affiliation due to the college you attended, the city you live in, the colors you love, family influence, or any other reason…there’s always a team for everyone.

Team rosters change each year. Some teams exceed expectations, while others may flop. New stars will emerge on the court and surprises are bound to occur.

However, one thing that remains constant is the representation courtside. Your college’s mascot. The character that stands tall and cheers your college on at each game.

Whether they’re fun-loving, legendary, ugly or terrifying, the college mascots are always the talk of the college communities. So, we’ve ranked our 7 best and 7 worst college mascots to grace the court!

March Madness 7 Best College Mascots

First up, it’s our favorite college mascots that we will be seeing shortly at March Madness 2023.

Sparty – Michigan State University

Sparty is described as “an approachable, fierce yet kind man for all seasons”. He is loved not only by those in Michigan, but across the US.

The Michigan State mascot was first introduced in 1955. He was six-feet tall and weighed almost 60 pounds. His heroic nature is definitely endearing. We love the big guy!

Friar Dom – Providence College

Friar arrived in 2002 to replace Providence’s Dalmation mascot, Friar Boy V. He’s so strange that not even those who attend Providence College take fondly to him.

Frightening. Terrifying. Ghastly. You name it. Friar Dom has been branded it. However, for us, there’s something quite hilarious about mixing a religious character with the heavy-drinking, partying madness that takes place among students during college sporting events.

We love the irony and we love how strange Friar Dom is. He goes down as one of our favorites.

Bucky Badger – University of Wisconsin

Bucky Badger has been entertaining from court-side since 1940. The state of Wisconsin named the badger its official state animal in 1957, so it’s pretty apt.

It’s the squished head for us. That’s the thing about Bucky that gives us a good laugh. Oh, and his dress sense.

Blue Devil – Duke University

The ‘Blue Devils’ derived from the nickname “les Diables Bleus”. This nickname was given to an elite mountain warfare unit of French soldiers during World War I, who were praised highly for their skills. That’s where the mascot, Blue Devil, comes in.

We can’t really put our finger on why we love this guy so much. But we do. Could he drive Duke to a sixth NCAA Championship win?

Big Jay – University of Kansas

Official mascot of the Kansas Jayhawks, Big Jay is a legend. Often seen intimidating the opposing teams and their mascots, Big Jay is accompanied by Baby Jay.

Big Jay represents Kansas well!

Super Frog – Texas Christian University (TCU)

The TCU Horned Frogs aren’t exactly one of the favorites for the tournament (+30000 at DraftKings), but their mascot certainly makes up for their expected shortcomings on the court.

Super Frog is a beast. Just check out the muscles on that guy. He first appeared at TCU’s sports events in 1979 and was branded as “a mascot the crowd could laugh with instead of laugh at”.

It’s got to be up there as one of the most unique mascots and nicknames in all of college sports.

Big Red – University of Arkansas

Big Red, the “Fighting Razorback”, represents the Arizona Razorbacks at all college sporting events. He’s a loud one.

If you didn’t know, a razorback is a feral pig. This doesn’t sound very exciting. But, trust us, Big Red is guaranteed to bring excitement to the court during March Madness.

March Madness 7 Worst College Mascots

Ok, so that’s the best college mascots covered from our side. But what about the worst college mascots that we’ll be seeing at March Madness?

Well, here are our picks.

Purdue Pete – Purdue University

The Purdue Boilermakers are a well-respected contender for March Madness 2023. However, their mascot, Purdue Pete, is far from respected.

Purdue Pete has had five brush-ups since his first appearance in University Bookstore ads back in 1940. Five makeovers later and he’s still the creepiest guy in the room. If you saw him in the street, you’d cross over to the other side.

Boomer and Sooner – University of Oklahoma

Boomer and Soomer represent the Oklahoma Sooners. Two white ponies that run around the court on game day.

They really are boring. Who wants two boring white ponies representing your college and hyping up the team? The fact that there needs to be two just proves how ineffective one would be.

Pistol Pete – New Mexico State University

Not another Pete?! Pistol Pete is portrayed by a NMSU student dressed in traditional cowboy attire, with a hat, vest and twirling pistols by his side.

It’s basically just someone in your most boring Halloween costume taking to the court. Back in 2009, Pistol Pete was suspended for one game after a fight with Utah State’s mascot, Big Blue. We hoped he’d never be back after that.

Brutus Buckeye – Ohio State University

“Who should you have representing the Ohio State Buckeyes?”, we hear you ask. A human buckeye, of course. Brutus is a comical, but also lazy choice.

What makes it even more lazy is that Brutus Buckeye now only needs to wear a giant buckeye head. It used to be way funnier during March Madness when the OG Brutus was simply a papier-mâché nut with the student’s hand and feet sticking out.

Will D. Cat – Villanova University

Wildcats are such an unoriginal choice in the world of college mascots. The three “high-profile” Wildcats are those of Arizona, Kentucky and Villanova.

Arizona and Kentucky introduced their Wildcat before ‘Will D. Cat’ was introduced by Villanova. Therefore, Villanova wins on the unoriginality debate. It’s such a cliché mascot choice.

HokieBird – Virginia Tech University

Virginia Tech’s mascot is literally just a turkey. There is no such thing as a ‘hokie’. The name comes from an old cheer from before the dawn of the 20th century.

Anyway, the Virginia Tech Hokies have jumped on this idea to produce a very boring turkey-like mascot which they call HokieBird. That’s it.

Chief Illiniwek – University of Illinois

The Fighting Illini are one of three Big Ten programs that do not have an official mascot, alongside the Wolverines and the Hoosiers.

Therefore, their sad attempt at representing their team on the sidelines comes in the form of Chief Illiniwek. He is an American Indian with a head dress on. Other Big Ten universities have even refused to allow the character to perform at their home games, citing him as controversial and offensive.

Illinois, get yourself a Kingfisher or something.

Free Bets For March Madness 2023

Well, that’s our best college mascots and our worst college mascots, rated by our team here at americanbettingexperts.com.

March Madness is coming. So, here are some exclusive free bets from us, to you!