Ranking Big 12 mascots after college conference expansion with Pac-12 schools
The Big 12 will look very different in 2024 with Texas and Oklahoma leaving for the SEC and Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah joining from the Pac-12 (along with BYU, UCF, Houston and Cincinnati joining in 2023).
With so much change in the conference, there is a lot to familiarize yourself with before the newly constituted Big 12 Conference takes the athletic field for competition.
One such area is team mascots.
Who are the mascots of the Big 12 teams?
Which mascot is the best? Why?
Take a look at the 16 Big 12 college mascots for the conference in 2024, ranked from No. 16 to No. 1.
Yes, these are subjective, but we don't think there should be much debate over who deserves to be in the top spot of these Big 12 mascot rankings.
More: Ranking all 16 Big 12 football stadiums by seating capacity after addition of Pac-12 teams
VOTE: Which school mascot is better, #ASU's Sparky the Sun Devil or #ArizonaWildcats' Wilbur & Wilma Wildcat? (#Big12 mascot rankings after expansion with #Pac12 schools: https://t.co/tFEe7JBtZj) #Forksup #BearDown
— azcentral sports (@azcsports) August 18, 2023
16. Willie the Wildcat - Kansas State
One look at this mascot can give you nightmares.
Placing Willie the Wildcat ahead of Big Jay is automatically disqualifying. This is a human with a cat head, something terribly wrong occurred for this to happen. pic.twitter.com/2Rf0SlkA1b
— Dustin (@dustinp_) August 11, 2023
15. Bearcat - Cincinnati
Just Bearcat? Not some alliteration like Benny the Bearcat? We have to knock it for that.
Lee Corso in the Bearcat mascot head 😍
The Bearcat in the Lee Corso mascot head 😂#Bearcats @CollegeGameDay pic.twitter.com/HjneNCKyEc— Cincinnati 💔 (@CincyProblems) November 6, 2021
14. Mountaineer - West Virginia
We have to give this school props for having a human mascot and not some cartoonish one. But, "Mountaineer" is so plain.
Say hello to your 69th Mountaineer Mascot, Mikel Hager! 💛💙 pic.twitter.com/2FMWXSSVKy
— WVU Mountaineers (@WestVirginiaU) March 4, 2023
13. Shasta - Houston
The Cougar mascot just doesn't do much for us, maybe because there are so many cougar mascots out there and this one doesn't have many distinguishing features.
COOG NATION @universityofhouston University of Houston Shasta cracked our screen 💀
We’ll see you tonight at 📍TDECU Stadium TDECU as @uhcougarfb Houston Cougar Football takes on Tulane. #3rdWard #GoCoogs 🐾🐾🐾 pic.twitter.com/tvdoaF537T— Coog Nation (@CoogNation247) September 30, 2022
More: Big 12 football power rankings after Arizona State, Arizona, Colorado, Utah expansion news
12. Pistol Pete - Oklahoma State
We have to give the Cowboys credit for being different, and Pistol Pete is definitely different among Big 12 mascots.
Our mascot is cooler than yours. Happy 157th birthday to Frank "Pistol Pete" Eaton, the original Cowboy. #okstate pic.twitter.com/UaQPMv2uwv
— OSU Cowboy Basketball (@OSUMBB) October 26, 2017
11. Bruiser & Marigold - Baylor
In 2017, Baylor introduced Marigold as Bruiser's partner. Two mascots are definitely better than one.
@Bruiser and @baylor @cheerleaders perform during a #NCAA #basketball game against #TCU #Sports, #photo @espn pic.twitter.com/PhthhUuasl
— Tony Gutierrez (@aptonygutierrez) January 14, 2016
10. Raider Red - Texas Tech
Are we too high on Raider Red? Maybe? But his name seems to go perfectly with his appearance.
Y’all need an extra player? 👀@TexasTechVB https://t.co/32JFhzxN45 pic.twitter.com/MWBRCATuWd
— Raider Red 🌵 (@TTURaiderRed) August 11, 2023
9. Wilbur & Wilma Wildcat - Arizona
Like the Baylor mascots, the Wildcats have two mascots, and they have had two for much longer, with Wilma being created in 1986. Bonus points for them even being married.
Arizona's mascots, Wilbur and Wilma T. Wildcat are married. Unusual for mascots to marry. Recent elections would suggest they lean GOP. pic.twitter.com/h8BAZJyueY
— Mack Mariani (@MackMariani) March 24, 2017
More: Big 12 Conference athletics power rankings after Arizona, Arizona State, Utah expansion
8. Cy the Cardinal - Iowa State
Evidently making Cy a Cyclone was just too difficult, so Iowa State made him a Cardinal. Did you know he was the national mascot of the year in 2008?
How about strangest? Iowa State is called the Cyclones yet this is their mascot. Not sure how a bird is a cyclone. And his name is Cy the Cardinal. pic.twitter.com/mPO6wjHa9Z
— Chad Cain (@oneguywithamic) April 18, 2022
7. SuperFrog - TCU
If you like unique mascots, you probably like SuperFrog, because he is definitely unique.
6. Chip - Colorado
Chip is no Ralphie, but he's pretty cool in his own right and he really gets the crowd going at Colorado games.
Can your mascot do this? Thought so. Chip at Colorado rocks! Sko Buffs! 🏈🦬 pic.twitter.com/9Or7uXBSHG
— Buffalo Bill (@CUBuffaloBill) August 11, 2023
5. Big Jay - Kansas
Big Jay has become synonymous with the Kansas Jayhawks over the years.
More: Arizona State AD Ray Anderson 'regrets' Big 12, Morgantown, West Virginia comments
4. Swoop - Utah
Yes, Swoop is a hawk, and there are a lot of hawk mascots, but Swoop has style.
Swoop lost his head when the @Utah_Football team ran onto the field against USC. I caught part of it. It's quite entertaining how the head flies into the video frame. #GoUtes #SWOOP pic.twitter.com/zmIBTG2Jqu
— UteHub.com - Utah Utes community - get the app! (@Ute_Hub) October 21, 2022
3. Sparky - Arizona State
Sparky the Sun Devil is unique and he is synonymous with Arizona State University. He also stomps on buses, which is pretty cool.
Just felt like going for a nice walk tonight 🤷♂️ #ForksUp https://t.co/ra3cVfPX5Z pic.twitter.com/PO3wAAeq7F
— Sparky the Sun Devil (@SparkySunDevil) July 27, 2023
2. Knightro - UCF
Knightro is just a cool name for a Knight mascot. He occasionally uses a go-kart. You can't get much cooler than that.
1. Cosmo the Cougar - BYU
Cosmo may be a cougar, but his athletic feats and dances easily set him above the rest of the mascots in the Big 12, and makes him one of the elite mascots in the country.
What other mascots can do this?
COSMO THE COUGAR FROM THE 3-POINT LINE 🔥
(via ericrwatson/Instagram) pic.twitter.com/nYemyxW369— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 9, 2020
And this?
Cosmo the Cougar…
W mascot.
(🎥:@cosmo_cougar / TT) pic.twitter.com/iKmjOxjw1P— TSN (@TSN_Sports) September 30, 2022
And this?
Cosmo the Cougar = BACK pic.twitter.com/UO3KKZ5BqM
— Jack McGuire (@JackMacCFB) October 6, 2018
More: Pac-12 collapse speculation swirls around Arizona State president Michael Crow amid report
VOTE: Is Cosmo the Cougar the best mascot in the #Big12? (Big 12 mascot rankings after expansion with #Pac12 schools: https://t.co/tFEe7JBtZj) @azcentral @azcsports @byu_cosmo #BYU #BYUfootball
— azcentral sports (@azcsports) August 18, 2023
Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
Support local journalism: Subscribe to azcentral.com today.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Big 12 expansion mascot rankings after Pac-12 additions: Who is No. 1?
