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Colorado Buffaloes
History
Buffaloes
The buffalo first appeared in 1934, three weeks after a contest to
select an official school nickname by the Silver and Gold newspaper had
come to an end and "Buffaloes" was the winning entry. The nickname was
officially bestowed upon the school's teams at halftime of the
Homecoming game against Utah. For the final game of the '34 season, some
students paid $25 to rent a buffalo calf mascot along with a real cowboy
as his keeper. It took the cowboy and four students to keep the calf
under control on the sidelines, a 7-0 win over the University of Denver
on Thanksgiving Day.
Prior to 1934, CU athletic teams usually were referred to as the "Silver
and Gold", but other nicknames teams were sometimes called included
Silver Helmets, Yellow Jackets, Hornets, Arapahoes, Big Horns, Grizzlies
and Frontiersmen. The campus newspaper announced the contest in the fall
of 1934, with a $5 prize to go to the author of the winning selection.
Claude Bates of New Madrid, Mo., and James Proffitt of Cincinnati, Ohio,
were co-winners for the prize as both submitted Buffaloes as their
entry. Athletic Director Harry Carlson, graduate manager Walter Franklin
and Kenneth Bundy of the Silver and Gold were the judges. Through the
years, synonyms which quickly came into use included "Bison", "Buffs",
"Thundering Herd", "Stampeding Herd", "Golden Avalanche", and "Golden
Buffaloes".
The "Ralphie" tradition began October 1, 1966 when Buddy Hays of
Boulder's Hidden Valley Ranch first brought a six-month old buffalo calf
to Folsom Field. The parade around the then-existing cinder track was
relatively inconspicuous. From that time on, the pre-game and second
half charges of Ralphie around the perimeter of the playing field (and
often through the ranks of visiting teams) has been one of the great
spectacles of college athletics.
Ralphie
The University of Colorado has the most unique mascot in all of
intercollegiate atheltics, a real buffalo named Ralphie. The live
buffalo mascot, actually "Ralphie IV," will continue the tradition of
leading the football team out on the field both at the start of the game
and the second half.
It is truly one of the special sights that exists anywhere in college or
professional sports, especially for opposing teams, who often stop in
their tracks watching the massive buffalo round the end zone and head
directly at their sideline.
Chip Named All-American
"Chip", the University of Colorado's costumed mascot, was named to the
2003 Capital One All-America Mascot Team. One of 12 mascots named to the
second annual team, Chip is now a finalist for National Mascot of the
Year honors, which will be announced in January.
The All-America team is comprised of Albert (Florida), Aubie (Auburn),
Big Red (Western Kentucky), Brutus Buckey (Ohio State), Chip (Colorado),
Cocky (South Carolina), Hairy Dawg (Georgia), Harry the Husky
(Washington), Monte (Montana), Scratch (Kentucky), Smokey (Tennessee)
and YoUDee (Delaware). Each member of the mascot team is awarded $5,000
for the school's mascot program.
This year's All-America team was chosen from Division IA and IAA
athletic programs. A panel of judges, including original Phillie
Phanatic David Raymond; mascot guru and historian, Dr. Roy Yarbrough;
and representatives from ESPN and Capital One, selected and notified the
12 finalists in June. Judging criteria included interaction with fans,
sportsmanship and community service.
The selection of the team sets the stage for a fierce battle for the
coveted Capital One National Mascot of the Year title beginning in early
September. Fans across the country will be able to vote for their
favorite mascot of the 12 through real-time, online polling at
www.capitalonebowl.com. The winner will be selected based on the judges'
ranking (50 percent) and the on-line voting results (50 percent). The
Capital One National Mascot of the Year will be announced during the
Capital One Bowl on January 1, 2004, and will receive an additional
$5,000 (for a total of $10,000) for its school's mascot program.
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