Our most successful mascot attempt lasted four years. So lets bring back a loser idea.
COLUMN: The case for IU to bring back the bison mascot
The bison mascot lasted from 1965-1969, Indiana’s most successful mascot attempt.www.idsnews.com
A Bison Sideline Mascot
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again, no one under a 100 years old associates our State or University with a Buffalo. It's weird and corny. It's ok we don't have a mascot.
Anyone in Indiana who's ever seen the state seal associates the Bison with INDIANA and clearly a heck of a lot of fans of INDIANA Football associate the Bison with INDIANA. If you chose to remain in the dark about it that's your problem not ours...
I agree with your first paragraph. But I'd settle for a dude in a helmet. Anything to break up the interminable number of timeouts.
Too much disagreement over the Bison. Never fly. Although I thought everybody from Indiana was familiar with the seal.
We can go with a fierce Hoosier as a mascot instead.
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We can go with a fierce Hoosier as a mascot instead.
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It was first performed at a football game and was adapted to basketball. look it up. It gets the crowd going more than the random song they have played since.
The loser mentality is thinking we are unique because we have no mascot. Others view us as disengaged. Just because it didn’t survive in 1965 doesn’t mean it cannot happen now.
By the way, the image is still on many things apart from Nick’s.
Fanatics.com had the IU bison shirts in stock last year and they sold out, so there is interest out there.
Meh…weird and corny or could be construed as without any creativity and school spirit.
Couple of angles to take on that one.
I want th
I want the bison video back and just as it looks like entering stadium a live bison runs out (don’t care if it’s a baby) across a candy stripe end zone. Come on iu make it happen. Too many wanting the bison video bring it back and make all of this happen. 2. Hire a band director from a southern school and put out a high steppin beat going band halftime show. Think outside the damn box
Who in hell thinks "we are unique because we have no mascot"?
I have never seen that take on here.
Outside of a few examples, the mascot is an embodiment of the universities sports teams.
In IU's case there is no natural mascot.
The candy striped end zone is such an obvious missed opportunity that it makes me mad thinking about it.
Sure there is... He's on the official state seal and we are "The" state university...
Evidently Bison are good for the environment in a variety of ways also...
www.theguardian.com
We should embrace them at all levels of the university hierarchy. 😎
Besides that he's our "National Mammal":
www.doi.gov
To consider Any other mascot would be un-American 😉...
Heck..., we ought to have a small herd grazing Dunn Meadow (not only would it be ecologically sound it would solve a few other problems too)...
And..., under the heading of probably more information than you might want to know...-
//Warning- If you love Spinach Artichoke Dip don't read this-
blog.nature.org
And one more article -
blog.nature.org
Herd of 170 bison could help store CO2 equivalent of 43,000 cars, researchers say
Free-roaming animals reintroduced in Romania’s Țarcu mountains are stimulating plant growth and securing carbon stored in the soil while grazing
We should embrace them at all levels of the university hierarchy. 😎
Besides that he's our "National Mammal":
15 Facts About Our National Mammal: The American Bison | U.S. Department of the Interior
Explore 15 fun facts about the American bison, the new national mammal of the U.S.
To consider Any other mascot would be un-American 😉...
Heck..., we ought to have a small herd grazing Dunn Meadow (not only would it be ecologically sound it would solve a few other problems too)...
And..., under the heading of probably more information than you might want to know...-
//Warning- If you love Spinach Artichoke Dip don't read this-
Quick and Dirty (Really Dirty) Guide to Bison: Keystone Species Edition
The ways bison graze, poop and wallow touch on everything about the ecology of a prairie. But well, it can all be more than a little messy.
blog.nature.org
And one more article -
Meet the Bison: North America’s Most Famous Mammal
For all their fame, you’d be surprised by how much you don’t know about North America’s largest land mammal.
blog.nature.org
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I'm sporting one of these a few times/month. I want the block I back on the helmets too.
nicebison.com
Bring Back the Bison - Heather White Shirt
Some things get retired before they should be. Bring Back the Bison! 25/50/25 cotton/poly/rayon blend Color: Heather White *Shirts are form fitting. If you are sometimes between sizes, we recommend going up to the bigger size. Sizing Chart
nicebison.com
...actually...that is pretty cute.
The Fightin’ Hoosier Bison is unstoppable.
Try and tackle this sumbitch
And buy your girl a hat for the games:
A
anon_mya1phvcpf5x4
Guest
The football team hasn't been that successful so we should just not bring them back (sarcasm)
The only mascot we had during my time were those blow up people that ran around. They were able to entertain the crowd at times. Mascots can't shine a turd if the football team stinks but they are generally not a negative.
The team has done that all too often.
I'm not a big mascot proponent but if IU must have one it needs to be an intimidating mascot.
Take the ax wielding dude on the state seal, give him a Jack Nicholson "Here's Johnny" facial expression. Send him after visiting fan's children.
Exactly! Optimism by the train load with this wholesale change Dolson has orchestrated for the program. Let's not just turn a page or 2 but open a whole new book.
I havent found one person who thinks it makes us "cool" or "unique". We just don't care that we don't have one.
Well, they say seniors revert back to childhood. So in that sense you are correct.
I just dont see the need for one and I don't hear the vast majority of people screaming for it either. This is such a weird discussion.The football team hasn't been that successful so we should just not bring them back (sarcasm)
The only mascot we had during my time were those blow up people that ran around. They were able to entertain the crowd at times. Mascots can't shine a turd if the football team stinks but they are generally not a negative.
Stated multiple times over the years that IU endorses this unique and “special” status because we choose not to place a mascot on the sidelines.
Nobody outside of Indiana can tell you what a Hoosier is and even within the state, there are a variety of “origin” stories about how the term was developed. “Who’s Ear” was part of the folklore. I understand the current environment with cancel culture and sensitivity being at play. It’s why Chief Illiniwek was removed but a bison/buffalo is a benign figure that maybe only PETA might get riled up about.
I look at it as a way to bolster school spirit and create something to rally behind.
Candy Stripes have zero association with the term “Hoosier.” Were native Hoosiers walking around the state in the 1800s in candy stripe clothing? Find me a picture and you have an argument. Nothing about candy stripe attire can be connected to our school nickname. But somewhere along the line, we decided to adopt it as an identity for basketball. It’s become tradition and is associated with the program.
In an age of NIL, we should embrace some type of likeness that can be associated with the school. But I understand that some folks have this stance that we can’t depict a “Hoosier” and prefer to leave it alone.
The mascot issue to me is thinking outside the box and creating brand awareness as much as anything.
We had an owl for something like 2 years in the 19 and aughts, yet the Hoo Hoo Hoosiers chant still hangs on and is probably more popular than ever now. I don't recall ever hearing it at a football or basketball game in the mid-late 80s. Why is the Bison discussion so off-putting to some?
Right. We just don’t care. So, if we don’t care whether we have one, let’s try installing one and see how it goes? If they don’t care that we have one, maybe they won’t care that we do but it’s minimal investment and maybe it would take off? Then, what’s the harm? It’s not going to destroy any lives. But, it’s an attempt.
Also, nice use of logic. I guess that means the Evansville Purple Aces can use the Bison as a mascot. Maybe Notre Dame can have an Irish Bison. Actually, I am going to copyright that now.
Wait, what? We had an owl? Also, are you saying the Hoo Hoo Hoosier chant came from us having an owl as our mascot? That seems backwards to me.
Hoo-Hoo-Hoosiers was a chant that didn’t surface until the early 2000s. I remember first hearing it in Atlanta at the Final Four. But it’s stuck around. You can always develop traditions. There is no statute of limitations that says you cannot create a tradition. Hep’s Rock was created in 2006. It’s stuck around. It’s about brand identity and creating associations.
So one guy says mid 80's and you say 2000. If it's 2000 that would be wild as I would say it was from as far back as I can remember. I am in boring meetings today so I may go down this rabbit hole.
If it's good enough to be in Nick's, it's OK with me.
I stopped when I saw 'form fitting'.I'm sporting one of these a few times/month. I want the block I back on the helmets too.
Bring Back the Bison - Heather White Shirt
Some things get retired before they should be. Bring Back the Bison! 25/50/25 cotton/poly/rayon blend Color: Heather White *Shirts are form fitting. If you are sometimes between sizes, we recommend going up to the bigger size. Sizing Chart
Ain't no one wants to see that.
Ok, it appears it's from earlier with the Owl logo back in 1908. Still interesting we had an owl logo way back then.
www.idsnews.com
The Indiana Hoosiers’ mascot journey
Despite a century of attempts to give the Hoosiers a likeness, nothing stuck.
www.idsnews.com
I'd heard it was from the Owl mascot in 1909 or whenever the owl was a mascot.
Edit - I see it was 1908 from the article above.
I didn't say mid 80s. I said the 19 and aughts, with the aughts being a poke at your old timer fixation about the bison and fans. I said I never heard it in the mid 80s. You need to either pay attention to this thread or your meetings. 😁
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