Many colleges choose mascots to represent their schools and sports teams in order to give themselves a community identity. The colleges and universities in the state of North Carolina are no different. The schools that have mascots often have interesting stories about how they came to be and what they represent about the school.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Ram
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's ram mascot was named after a popular member of the school's football team. In 1924, Jack Merrit was known as "the battering ram" around the campus, and cheerleader Vic Huggins thought this would be a fitting team mascot. With $25, Huggins bought a ram from Texas, which he hoped would bring the team out of a playing slump. The ram has been the school's mascot since.
Appalachian State College's Yosef the Mountaineer
Yosef the Mountaineer has been the Appalachian State College mascot since 1942, and became the mascot almost by accident. When putting together the yearbook, the staff needed an extra picture to balance out one of the pages. Someone drew a picture of a mountaineer whose name was supposed to be "Dan'l Boone Yourself." However, there was a printing error and the name was changed to "Dan'l Boon Yosef." This name was later shorted to "Yosef."
North Carolina State University's Mr. and Ms. Wuf
North Carolina State University was unofficially known as "the Aggies" until 1922. They were also unofficially called "the Farmers" and "the Red Terrors," but none of the names seemed to stick. That year an angry student described the rowdy fans as acting like a wolfpack, and since then the school has been known at the Wolfpack. In the 1970s, the characters Mr. and Ms. Wuf developed to cheer on the Wolfpack at games.
Winston-Salem State University's Amon the Ram
Theodore Hayes, a player on Winston-Salem State University's first basketball team, decided on the Ram mascot in the early 1930s. The name was decided in a contest where students and members of the community could submit name suggestions. Amon was a West African deity who is represented in drawings as a ram.
Tags: North Carolina, State University, University North, University North Carolina, Appalachian State, Appalachian State College