The 21 most nightmare fueling mascots in college athletics

To be a college mascot, it’s crucial that you bring smiles to fans while also bringing out the pride in alumni. So, why are some mascots so terrifying?

It isn’t easy to become a mascot at a big-time athletics school, and the duties aren’t always glamorous. The tryouts to wear the costume of your school’s beloved mascot are rigorous and result in no personal glory: most mascots are supposed to remain anonymous.

So what would make anyone want to writhe their way inside of an “Albert the Gator” suit when the sun is beating down on a humid, sticky, 100-degree, fall afternoon in Gainesville, Florida?

It could be the euphoria of hearing 90,000 roars of approval as you lead the football team out of the tunnel. It could the proximity to all those future professional athletes. Or maybe it’s the pride that comes with seeing wide-eyed freshmen and their parents’ smiles when they see you dancing around the quad on move-in day.

It’s clear that all mascots have the same goal: to bring smiles to the fans, even when the football team is trailing Alabama 38-0 at halftime.

However, some costume designs slipped through the cracks over the years. Rather than creating a mascot that simultaneously evokes fun, pride and dominance, these costumes more closely resemble a character out of one of our worst nightmares.

Here are the 21 most nightmare fueling mascots that college athletics has to offer.

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