All The Dog Mascots In The NCAA Tournament, Ranked

Everybody loves an underdog story. Me? I just love a dog story.

With the NCAA Tournament kicking off this week, there will be plenty of talk about upsets, favorites, Cinderella stories and bracket-busters. I’ll let the serious basketball analysts on the OutKick staff write about that.

I want to talk about the mascots — particularly, the dog mascots. Of the 64 teams in this tournament, 10 are represented by furry sideline canines. A whopping SIX of those canines are bulldogs.

Look, you’re going to be hard-pressed to find someone who loves dogs more than I do. But out of all the badass canine breeds in the world, why so many athletic programs want to name themselves after wrinkly, lazy couch potatoes is beyond me. And why does every school go for the English bulldog instead of the infinitely more athletic American bulldog?

These are questions I cannot answer. But I can count down my favorite canine mascots in the NCAA Tournament, from 10 to 1. Let’s get started.

Honorable Mention: Lobo Louie and Lobo Lucy (New Mexico)

We are throwing these two goobers from the University of New Mexico in only because the great Dan Zaksheske (cat person) reminded me that wolves should be considered dogs, given that they do share 99.9% of their DNA.

He’s right. The only problem is that New Mexico does not have a live mascot and that Louie and Lucy are just humans in wolf clothing. (Not to be confused with the story of Little Red Riding Hood, which features the exact opposite.)

Therefore, I’ll still give them an honorable mention nod but not a place in the Top-10.

10. Spike (Gonzaga)

By default, Spike has to come in last place because, like Louie and Lucy Lobo, he is an impostor — a human in a bulldog suit.

Gonzaga has had various live mascots over the years, like Bullet, Michael O’Shaugnessy, Salty and Q. According to the Zags’ website, though, “these canines made for great photo-ops, but they seldom felt very comfortable in loud crowds of people.”

And that’s how we ended up with this goofy bastard.

9. Boss (Wofford)

The aforementioned Dan Zaksheske is going to hate me for this one because the Wofford Terriers were his pick for best dog mascot in the NCAA Tournament. And I will at least give them some points for creativity — collegiate athletics certainly didn’t need yet another team of “bulldogs.”

But, yet again, we run into the whole not-a-real-dog problem. Wofford has had live Boston Terrier mascots in the past (Blitz, Boss and Terri, to name a few), but it seems they discontinued that tradition after the retirement of their most recent pup, Magnolia, in 2018.

Therefore, Wofford, I award you no points.

8. Tupper (Bryant)

Finally, we’ve arrived at the real canines, and we’re kicking things off with Tupper II from Bryant University. This guy actually looks a lot like the bulldog I used to have. He had absolute rocks for brains, and he spent most of his time eating, snoring and grunting. But he was sweet.

I do think Tupper needs to fire his social media manager, though, because his Instagram account really doesn’t do him justice.

7. Uga (Georgia)

I already know I’m going to get some hate from Georgia fans for ranking this guy so low, but I don’t care. Calling Uga a dog is generous. He’s really just a meatball with legs.

Uga is short for Uga-ly. U-G-A-L-Y, you ain’t got no alibi.

(I’d still snuggle him, though.)

6. Bully (Mississippi State)

Duncan N. writes: I know Uga gives bulldogs a bad name, but MSU’s Bully is super athletic. He sprints up and down the basketball court, doesn’t need to sit on bags of ice, and is way cuter than Uga.

I tend to agree here. No offense to any of my friends with a sedentary lifestyle and a sedentary pooch to match, but — in my humble opinion — a dog should be able to run and breathe at the same time.

5. Griff (Drake)

Now, I’m going to contradict everything I just said and give the very sedentary Griff from Drake University the No. 5 spot. Literally, all this dog does is sleep. He might wake up just long enough to devour some treats, and he probably has to be carried outside to use the bathroom, but he’s secure and confident in his chonkiness.

I don’t care how far Drake gets in the tournament, Griff’s sideline costumes are undefeated.

4. Jonathan (UConn)

Jonathan is a stunning husky with piercing blue eyes and really cool facial markings. He’s also just a fun-loving dude and a belly rub enthusiast.

Extra props to the UConn ball boys for keeping the court free of dog hair while Jonathan blows his coat this spring.

3. Handsome Dan (Yale)

I’m giving the Yale mascot the top ranking among bulldogs because his name is Handsome Dan (which makes me laugh), and he is, indeed, much more handsome than that big ol’ chunk Uga down in Athens.

2. Reveille (Texas A&M)

Josh from Texas writes: I am almost certain my labs have a crush on Reveille.

You know what? They should. Reveille is a bad bitch, and I mean that both literally and in the most flattering way possible.

This American Rough Coat Collie just seems so dainty yet so dignified. Also, she has five diamonds sewn onto her blanket to signify her rank as the highest-ranking member in the Corps of Cadets. What a diva.

1. Smokey (Tennessee)

As a Tennessee alumna, I’ll admit (for the sake of journalistic integrity) that I am biased. But this Blue Tick Coonhound is Tennessee through and through, wearing an orange and white checkered blanket, leading the players through the Power T and howling along to “Rocky Top.”

Brings a tear to my eye. The goodest boy in college sports.

Now, I hate to rain on your feel-good parade, but if you’re hoping to see some of these good boys and girls on your TV during the opening rounds this week, you’re going to be sorely disappointed. Unfortunately, the NCAA prohibits live animals from being present during tournament games. 

According to a spokesperson, “The policy is in place due to limited space and tight turnaround at venues with multiple sessions in the preliminary rounds.”

The good news, though, is that the NCAA is willing to make exceptions for the Final Four. Until then, though, the humans in dog costumes will have to do.

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