Sweet 16 Teams Ranked by Mascots (2023 Edition)

The Sweet 16 is set! The first weekend of the NCAA Tournament featured some bananas upsets and all kinds of chaotic moments.

We’ve got a myriad of species still left in the field. Three cats, three dogs, three birds, and three humans (sort of). Then…well, four other things that don’t fit anywhere.

But which one is the best? Let’s dive in!

16. No Mascot — San Diego State Aztecs

The Aztec mascot was officially retired in 2021, which is for the best. However, San Diego State still hasn’t found a new moniker, and thus, they have no mascot at all and are the lowest team on this list.

15. The Tiger — Princeton Tigers

I don’t like when mascots don’t have actual names. Princeton’s mascot would be like naming your dog “Dog.” WEAK.

14. Shasta — Houston Cougars

One of just two No. 1 seeds remaining in the tournament, Shasta and Sasha are the dynamic duo of the Cougars. They’re sorta cute, I guess?

13. Willie Wildcat — Kansas State Wildcats

There might be a full-costumed version of Willie that pops up, but he appears to primarily just be a wildcat head on a human body. I don’t know if I like that or hate it, so let’s just throw Willie here and call it a day.

12. Spike — Gonzaga Bulldogs

Spike looks like an ancient pup, which I suppose is fitting because Mark Few has been at Gonzaga for upwards of 56 years. Well, since 1999, but doesn’t that feel like a lifetime ago? I mean, Will Smith had an album called Willennium back then. That’s wild!

11. Owlsley — Florida Atlantic Owls

The Owls won their first two NCAA Tournament games in program history, which is awesome. Less awesome is this official description of Owlsley (which is also not a great name): “Owlsley loves to cheer on the men’s basketball team, the baseball team, the football team and show up at other campus activities.” The “show up” part makes it seem super reluctant, doesn’t it? But those eyes are GORGEOUS.

10. Jonathan the Husky — Connecticut Huskies

Every UConn Husky is named “Jonathan” in honor of Jonathan Trumbull, the last colonial and first state Governor of Connecticut. Jonathan kind of looks like he’s seen some harsh things in life, which is probably true of both of a colonial and a governor.

9. Joe Bruin — UCLA Bruins

Joe is just kind of a generic bear, but he also shares a name with me. And that’s worth some spots on this list.

8. Sparty — Michigan State Spartans

Sparty is an iconic mascot and we had a nice Greco-Roman matchup with the Spartans and USC Trojans in the first round. I’ll never have abs like this, but it’s something to aspire to.

7. D’Artagnan — Xavier Musketeers

Xavier has an “All For One, One For All” spirit, so naturally, the university would name its mascot after one of the Three Musketeers. I like the getup! Xavier also has a weird blob nicknamed Blobby, which makes no sense, even to the university. But what a duo.

6. Big Al — Alabama Crimson Tide

As with much of the Crimson Tide’s history, Big Al was born from football. Back in the 1930s, a fan called Alabama’s linemen “elephants” because they towered over the opposing Ole Miss linemen. Then Alabama made an elephant mascot. I wasn’t alive during the 30s, but if that’s how things got done back then, perhaps it’s no surprise the U.S. had some rough years ahead.

5. Bevo — Texas Longhorns

The original Texas mascot was an American Pit Bull Terrier named Pig. A longhorn makes much more sense. As of this writing, there have been 15 live Bevos over there years, and they’re all as majestic as ever.

4. Smokey — Tennessee Volunteers

The live Smokey — who is a charmer — was first introduced during halftime of a college football game and ate a washcloth before the Vols won the championship in 1998. Hopefully, the mascot version is more selective with the appetite.

3. Billy Bluejay — Creighton Bluejays

I got a picture with Billy last year, and I was very impressed with his footwork. Birds have had a rocky NCAA Tournament, but the Bluejays stepped up. I credit Billy with at least 72% of that success.

2. Big Red — Arkansas Razorbacks

Big Red is married (perhaps?) to Sue E and they have a child named Pork Chop. I want all three of them attending every game until the end of time.

1. Sebastian — Miami Hurricanes

Many people who didn’t attend Miami don’t know that Sebastian is an ibis. They’re the last birds to seek shelter before a hurricane and the first ones to pop out after the storm ends. Since having a literal hurricane would be impractical, we get this delightful guy instead. Love it.