Why not, it doesn't stop 10 schools from having "Spartans" as their mascot. BTW, what Colorado actually has as a mascot is a Bison, not a Buffalo. There were never Buffalos on the North American continent. But if we correctly call ours a Bison, that would differentiate us from CU, problem solved.
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i'm guessing the schools with Spartans as their mascots, also have a team nickname of "Spartans".
if say the Wisc Badgers or Colorado Buffaloes had a Spartan as their mascot, that would be weird.
thus the IU Hoosiers having a buffalo or bison as a mascot, seems off to me.
that said, it's not a big deal to me either way, and if having a bison mascot made IU fans happier, so be it.
often when i see a movement out of the blue like this, and especially when IU's fan board rep weighs in like he has a dog in this fight, it's because IU is wanting to roll something out, (like say candy striped merchandise or a bison mascot).
thus, it won't shock me if IU is thinking about having a bison mascot.
if so, not a big deal to me one way or another.
i have no problem with having a mascot, i just think a bison would be awkward, both in the getup/costume itself, and in the explanation as to why a bison/buffalo. (no matter how you spin it, the bison/buffalo has no connection what so ever with IU).
hard for me to visually image a very good bison mascot getup.
i just think IU could come up with something better than a buffalo. (sorry, i mean bison).