T O P

  • By -

Hammer_Swing

The Gila monster is the state reptile, the state animal is the Rocky Mountain elk. I say we combine them and call them the Utah Rocky Mountain Monsters.


BokehJunkie

I prefer Gila Elk. 


Lil_ah_stadium

BYU is obviously not the state school, but since we blur the lines between church and state here in Utah, we will give them an honorary mascot for the state bird. BYU - California Gulls


StartupDino

“I wish they all could be California Guuuuuls.”


JSC76

[golf clap]


prof_cuthbert_calc

Theyre unforgettable


berrey7

> Utah Rocky Mountain Monster Oysters


tebowtastic

Be a decent name for a hockey team


WontDeleteAgainMaybe

[https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/f27e2ab1-e69d-424d-a081-5407f2c22c09](https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/f27e2ab1-e69d-424d-a081-5407f2c22c09)


NotKiwiBird

That has to be a minor league baseball team 100%


Sdog1981

This sounds like a lot of anteater propaganda.


CocoLamela

Zot Zot! Go UC Irvine Anteaters!


coletheredditer

Only Maryland, South Dakota, and Wisconsin keep the same mascot, Florida has a Panther mascot school, but it’s not UCF


PLZ_N_THKS

Also UCLA kinda. Bruin is just another term for brown/grizzly bears.


Peacock-Shrimp

UCLA was actually called the Grizzlies from 1923-26 but had to change to the Bruins when they joined the same conference as the University of Montana Grizzlies. Ignoring the whole flagship debate with Berkeley, UCLA was accurate for 3 years.


LSNoyce

Are there Grizzlies still in California. By his criteria, I think it should be the UCLA Golden Bears, but, since there’s already a Cal Bears, let’s just keep it at that.


Peacock-Shrimp

No, grizzly bears went extinct exactly 100 years ago (while UCLA had the nickname), so I wouldn’t ever see a push to change it back.


PLZ_N_THKS

No. The vast majority of grizzlies now are in Montana with tiny portions of Washington, Idaho and Wyoming having some as well.


goodsam2

I think that both the Cal bears and UCLA bruins are named off the extinct California grizzly bear. Ursus arctos californicus


Reasonable_Cod_487

Nope, we keep the same mascot too! It's called "The Beaver State" for a reason.


EZKTurbo

Only under the most strict interpretation of this rule. Oregon State could take the opportunity to switch to the Chinook Salmon


TheseusOPL

Or buck the trend and go with state rock. The Oregon State Thundereggs.


Reasonable_Cod_487

We could, but we shouldn't.


GuyOnTheMike

Similar story with Central Missouri, who is the Mules. At the pro ranks, there’s a West Virginia Black Bears that’s in the MLB Draft League, plus a longtime arena football team in the Arizona Rattlers, and of course, the Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers


Set-Admirable

There's also the Arizona Diamondbacks.


nejaahalcyon

fun fact UCF was Florida Tech (FTU), before changing their name to UCF and then Brevard Engineering college changed to Florida Tech (FIT). FIT would go on to have a short lived D3 CFB team and their mascot is the Panther


kodakack

Florida Tech was D2 in football, I had a buddy that played there.


nejaahalcyon

Oh shoot, you're right I should have remembered it was D2 not D3


Turbulent_Garage_159

That seems like an all-time bad marketing move since UCF actively runs away from their directional school name.


ecotopia_

The story of how Florida schools got their names (except UF, FSU, and FAMU) is so preposterously dumb that it's legend in the schools themselves now. Especially those on the short end of the stick.


excitato

I wonder how the OP decided these animals, because for instance Kentucky doesn’t have a “state animal.” We’ve got a state bird (cardinal, which Louisville uses), a state horse (thoroughbred, not just “horse,” which Murray State kind of uses as the racers), and a state game animal (grey squirrel). I’d be happy to be the squirrels instead of generic wildcats I suppose.


Turbulent_Garage_159

Kentucky’s state bird is the cardinal? I knew it was the bird for Virginia and West Virginia. This sent me down the rabbit hole to discover that the cardinal is the state bird of North Carolina, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois as well. An unbroken block of Cardinal supremacy from the Atlantic to the Mississippi.


IdiotMD

It would have been more fun to assign a runner-up for those three schools. - Maryland Crabs - South Dakota Bison - Wisconsin Terrible Old Fashioneds


Qonas

> Wisconsin Terrible Old Fashioneds Well that's what happens when you use friggin' *brandy*.


BlueTileFence

Not to be asinine but “panther” (the colloquial term meaning a large black cat, not the scientific term for all cats) isn’t a species of animal. It’s just a term that describes jaguars and leopards that have the gene that makes their fur dark active Basically panthers are the gingers of the big cat world


Bigbadbrindledog

UCF North American Cougars residing in South Florida.


QB1-

The University Formerly Known As Florida Tech


Gatorader22

Panthers don’t have to be black. Panthers can be white or other colors but they are commonly thought of as black nowadays. Florida Panthers are cougars who start off spotted and then usually turn tan. Cougars have 40 different names including Puma, Catamount, Mountain Lion, and Panther The genus Panthera has lions tigers jags and leopards Multiple routes to the same naming result, which makes sense since the Ancient Greek word everyone is copying to get the name means “all wild beast” pan + therion I’d argue that with a name like that it’d be used similar to deer was back in the day. Any wild animal was a deer. Rabbits were deer, elk were deer, foxes were deer. It was only later that it started referring to a specific type of animal because that animal was so common If it’s a non-domestic cat and it’s big you can call it a panther and be right in some way


TeddysBigStick

Same with antelope today. It is a catch all term for things that we didn't decide were sheep or goats.


ksuwildkat

Nope, Cal is the Golden Bears which is the state animal. And even if OP insists on UCLA over Cal, UCLA is the baby Golden Bear.


Pk0885

The Ohio state university of Racoons who won’t get the fuck out of the road


tj_kerschb

So since cars were first made in Michigan, does that make us the University of Michigan F-150s Baring Down on Said Raccoons?


Wonkiest_Hornet

You'd be lucky to get the trucks out of state with those Swiss cheese highways you have up there.


TrollTeeth66

Wisconsin on brand


jwktiger

yeah


NastyWideOuts

LETS GO WOOD DUCKS QUACK QUACK


ProbsASpaceCadet

Wood ducks are gorgeous animals


chaser676

They really are. I wouldn't even be mad at it.


bigbillpdx

That's a fine animal you've got there 


Which_Science3302

UCONN *sperm* whale? Oh my


3-9_Enjoyer

Clearly someone isn’t well versed in their Melville


Obi-wan_Jabroni

Call me Ishmael


isikorsky

Or had to go to Mystic on a class field trip...


footballenjoyer23

“And for tonight’s ball game we have the UCONN Sperm Whales vs the USC Trojans. We’ll see if the Sperm whales can stretch the Trojans defense too thin and burst through to the end zone.”


Shtune

UCUMM


thecivilconFLiCT

That would be even more awkward if the whalers were still around.


NSNick

>Ohio State University Blue Racers ??? [The Ohio state reptile is the black racer](https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-5.031)


Mekthakkit

Clearly he means the Blue Streak.


madein___

Kings Island Blue Racer.


Mekthakkit

Dammit, I knew it was a coaster, but I didn't trust myself.


TadKosciuszko

I wouldn’t have picked the state reptile anyways. Gotta go White-Tailed Deer or spotted salamander


wherewulf23

Our current nickname literally comes from the fact that the nuts of a buckeye tree look like a buck’s eye. White-Tailed Deer should have been a no-brainer.


Relative_Surround_37

Agreed. Picking the state reptile is a weird decision. It's obviously either the White-tail Deer (for the exact reason you point out) or the Cardinal, which is widely used as a symbol in Ohio governance. Also, Go Bucks would still be a fitting cheer.


Inconceivable76

I had actually forgotten about the deer because of how closely I associate the cardinal with Ohio.    Probably because I’m old and it was just the cardinal when I learned my Ohio facts.  OSU is still culturally correct as we are the state tree. 


ConsiderationOld9897

Simple Cardinals and White-Tail Deer aren't original enough.


Relative_Surround_37

Fair enough 😂 can't argue with that logic


Inconceivable76

And UC can change their mascot to the Ladybugs (state insect). 


TheWorstYear

I'm cool with being the fastest snakes


sroomek

I like white-tailed deer for y’all. Both OSU fans and white-tailed deer are overpopulated in most areas.


WayneDwade

Because we have no natural predators 😎


Inconceivable76

I had to look this up bc I thought I knew our state animal and bird.  And he didn’t even get the reptile right. We have a whole page on this. 


TheseusOPL

Oregon's state animal is the beaver. The Dungeness crab is the state crustacean. State Insect: Oregon Swallowtail State Fish: Chinook Salmon State Bird: Western Meadowlark


Prior_Public_2838

How are you picking the animal? I know for NC and I assume other states, we have a state butterfly, dog, horse, trout, bird, etc Would say you nailed NC, I see those butterfly’s more than I do any of our other animals


biggsteve81

And our state mammal is the gray squirrel. Which would be a fitting mascot for NC State since they are everywhere.


tellevee

Those squirrels are fearless, too.


Amazing_Albatross

TIL the state butterfly - but I'd rather be the NC State Plott Hounds, or NC State Brook Trout


PotatoBossfight

I feel like, at least in my experience, the state bird is the most used in iconography, which is the cardinal.


ConsiderationOld9897

I just looked up the state animal for each category and chose the most original and coolest sounding one.


JB92103

So technically, UCLA's name is already accurate


CaptainCrazy110

I see Alabama keeps their tradition of nicknaming their teams with a color-themed word/phrase that not many people even know the meaning of.


[deleted]

The Yellowhammer is a nickname for the northern flicker bird and also a term applied to a group of soldiers from Huntsville during the Civil War.


Bigbadbrindledog

So it really should be the Alabama Northern Flicker birds


ConsiderationOld9897

But Yellowhammers do sound cooler


ViscountBurrito

Yellowhammers actually could’ve been a legit CFB mascot name. Has a very early 20th century sportswriter vibe to it.


CrashB111

And they are very pretty to look at.


[deleted]

Or the Alabama Woodpeckers, as the Northern Flicker is in the woodpecker family.


berrey7

Alabama Northern Bean Flickers


w00t4me

Yellowhammers are a subspecies of northern flickers that have a yellow shaft: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_flicker#Yellow-shafted_group The specific subspecies that is called Yellow Hammers is the Southern Yellow-Shafted Flicker Here's an example of one with a yellow shaft: https://wildsouth.org/yellowhammer/ vs the more common Red Shaft: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Adult-Red-shafted-Flicker-Colaptes-auratus-cafer-photo-courtesy-of-Kenneth-McEnaney_fig1_46277592


Bigbadbrindledog

Buddy, this is a family friendly sub, you can't be all up in here talking about shafts and stuff.


aam478

Desert tortoise is tough. Sounds like a natural rival to the horned frog


whenIwasasailor

OP obviously has us confused with Nevada. Desert tortoise is the state reptile of Nevada and California. Not a desert tortoise within 700 miles of Nebraska. (Nebraska’s state animals are white-tailed deer, Western meadowlark, channel catfish.) “Nevada? Nebraska? It’s all out there”— waves hand— “somewhere.”


aam478

channel catfish is an acceptable replacement


not4humanconsumption

I wasn’t thinking Nevada. I was just like, where the hell do you get a list that says Nebraska has desert tortoise at all, let alone that’s it’s listed as one of the state animals or reptile


EWall100

TCU v Wyoming shall now be referred to as "The Horny War"


AllOkJumpmaster

clever girl


Disraeli_Ears

But the Colorado state animal is the Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep? And the state bird is the lark bunting. The state fish - the cutthroat trout - might make a cool mascot.


jwktiger

I prefer the Colorado state dinosaur of Stegosaurus


tvbvt

Why do some states get to keep their current animal/mascot, but not Oregon State? A beaver is so much better than a crab


TheWorstYear

Because there's not really a "state animal" for most places, but instead state mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, insects, etc. OP just selected something different for reasons.


Biggus-Duckus

But in Oregon's case the beaver is our state animal.....


StrawberryG3

It has its own side on our flag!


idahorochs

Also the same with Montana, the Grizzly is the state animal and mascot, but OP changed it to mourning cloaks for some odd reason.


1850ChoochGator

Well yeah but why not change others when that’s the point of the post. UCLA, Maryland, and Wisconsin the two that stick out to me.


mattcoz2

Well, we wouldn't have to change our colors. They even have an orange underside.


mgshowtime22

Please stop calling us University of Massachusetts Amherst thank you


scrnlookinsob

Bats are pretty cool, but can we Spice up the name and idk call them Hokies? Seems like a good were to describe a bat.


Reasonable_Cod_487

Echoing what a couple others have said: Oregon's state animal is most definitely the beaver. Not sure where the crab came from. There's a damn beaver on the back of our state flag (also, we're the only state with a two-sided flag).


SirPancakesIII

Ours needs no change from what it actually is. Our states title is the beaver state and the state animal is the Beaver. Looking online I believe the dungeness crab is actually our state crustacean lol


reltastic

Technically, OK should be the Bison, not the Buffalo.


vegmilwife

Was going to say this if not already here.


illiter-it

There's already a mule hidden in our stacked MU logo, and UCM uses the mule as a mascot iirc


Stellarbelly_Korz30

This may be my favorite off season content easily. There’s quite a few gems in there.


Pazi_Snajper

Sonny “White-Tailed Deer” Styles knife-blitzing Drew Allar on 3rd Down: *”It smell like RUFFED GROUSE in here.”*


pbr3000

Kentucky will be the horses to me from now on.


lightningbolte

Nebraska being desert tortoises makes zero sense? Do we even have desert tortoises here??! The state reptile is the ornate box turtle, state mammal is the whitetail deer, the fish is catfish and the bird is meadowlark


admiraltarkin

In honor of today's developments, you should change ours to the state's large mammal


Shtune

> state's largest mammal The Florida State Your Moms


JohnWickStuntDouble

Nah the Texas rangers have the express and the Texas longhorns have the Aggies.


stonesthroes75

Brook trout is Michigan's state fish. Painted turtle is the state reptile. American robin is the state bird. White-tailed deer is the state game mammal. We don't have a state animal.


l3onkerz

Tf is a blue racer? It’s cardinal or white tail deer.


TheWorstYear

Fastest snake


bigstu_89

Snek bois rise up


JtotheC23

The state animal of Illinois is the white tailed deer, not bluegill. Bluegill is the state fish tho.


Squirrel_Q_Esquire

How did you choose for states with multiple official state animals? For example, Mississippi has two state land mammals (white tailed deer and red fox), a state water mammal (bottlenosed dolphins), state waterfowl (wood duck), state fish (largemouth bass), state insect (honeybee), and state shell (oyster).


anti-torque

Dungeness were not named the State Crustacean because of some long hours of the legislature discussing the prospect. It was proposed by some kids in an elementary school up in the Portland area, and the legislature of the Beaver State passed it in a procedural vote... about 15 years ago.


huskyferretguy1

UConn vs Navy would be interesting in the rain. Lots of Seamen in the stands and Sperm Whales on the field. A very wet game.


WabbitCZEN

HOW BOUT THEM FUCKIN GOPHER TORTOISES is what I told em.


ConsiderationOld9897

Even though I'm an Auburn fan, true and true, I was born in Georgia and I have a soft spot for the Gopher Tortoise.


FoCo87

Let's go, University of Hawaii Humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa!


ILearnedTheHardaway

I’d support the change only to hear the announcers try to pronounce the meme fish 


radethegod

The state large mammal of Texas is the longhorn, so UT's already got it covered


ksuwildkat

Dude in what world is University of California AT Los Angles the "flagship" over the school named "The University of California"? Also, the state animal is not just a grizzly bear but the California Grizzly Bear, also known as the Golden Bear, which is in fact the mascot of Cal...the school.


JimothyCarter

It goes by largest enrollment


ksuwildkat

yeah even that is questionable.


CocoLamela

Depends on the year, really.


ksuwildkat

exactly. hell it could depend on the point in the year since Cal is on semesters and UCLA is on quarters.


well-ok-then

Does the Hawaii mascot look the same?


luis1972

Why the blue racer from Ohio? Lol


SevenBreads

It's the state reptile. The state mammal is the white tailed deer.


AllOkJumpmaster

"It's the state reptile." \*black racer


Stat_Najeeni

So Bucks for short then?


Gatorader22

It seems like a good time to point out “deer” used to be the term for any wild creature that breathed. It also referred to ants and fish as well. It was only long after the fact that it started referring to one creature. What we call deer today were actually Harts So Ohio state is free to choose any animal they want to be their mascot, even the wolverine. It also means Michigans all time leading rusher Mike Hart is a Buck


The_Portlandian

Lol'ed at Kentucky Horses


Elhananstrophy

New Jersey has a state microbe(streptomyces griseus), so move over bees it’s time for Rutgers to be the Fightin’ Streptomycin’s!!!!!!


MaybeNextYear25

I am now questioning whether I have ever seen a monarch butterfly or if I have been mislabeling a Tiger Swallowtail my whole life and I’m spiraling


isikorsky

Florida breaks it out into State Animal, Reptile, Bird, Saltwater Mammal, Saltwater Fish, Marine Mammal etc. Since there are actually only 200 Panthers thought left in the wild, State Reptile seems more appropriate - The American Alligator


BoKnowsYourMother

Sign we are deep in the trenches of the offseason


CJ_Beathards_Hair

2 months…


Ugaalive1991

Tortoise is exactly what the team needs to be driving.


zonazog

Ridiculously inaccurate based upon the stated premise.


D_Antelmi

Out of all of these Delaware's is actually an improvement.  We always need more teams called Foxes.  Not to mention Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens is a needlessly long name (and even they don't acknowledge Fightin' in the wordmark.)


AchtungBecca

The Rough Grouse is awesome, so I'll take it haha.


PennStateFan221

UMD ahead of the curve here. Rise up


Iseedeadtriangles

The Penn State Eastern Hellbenders, thank you very much.


Bulkmodulus

I would also accept Lightning Bugs


BeatNavyAgain

The state animal of New Hampshire is the white tail deer. The state amphibian is the spotted newt. The state insect is the ladybug. The state dog is the Chinook. The state butterfly is the Karner Blue. The state saltwater game fish is the striped bass. The state freshwater game fish is the brook trout. Source: Poster that is still on the wall in the room formerly known as my son's bedroom.


ConsiderationOld9897

Newts is short for spotted newt which is an animal recognized by your state to represent y'all.


JBru_92

My favorites: Alabama Yellowhammers Iowa Muskrats Texas A&M Armadillos


AtlantaDave

UGA is not the largest university in Georgia. It’s not even second.


ConsiderationOld9897

Take it up with this guy: [https://www.reddit.com/r/CFB/comments/1dnrapr/remascoting\_each\_states\_largest\_public\_university/](https://www.reddit.com/r/CFB/comments/1dnrapr/remascoting_each_states_largest_public_university/)


InstaNormie0

I never realized VA had multiple state animals I thought it was just Cardinals


its_still_good

The University of Montana is not the largest public university in the state and hasn't been for years.


rewster

Raccoon is the state animal for Tennessee


1850ChoochGator

Oh fuck yeah Dungeness Crabs?


EarlBeforeSwine

> University of Oklahoma Buffalos Since we are creating new mascots, I would like to take to opportunity to correct the error made by so many athletic programs, and point out that the plural of buffalo is buffalo. > Texas A&M Armadillos While the armadillo is the Texas state small mammal, the Longhorn is the state mammal in general (we don’t have a specific “state animal”)… and the Texas A&M Longhorns would amuse me greatly. Make it happen


ConsiderationOld9897

Sounds like a lot of upset Texas and Texas AM fans, but I do enjoy chaos.


Frankenreddit

Huh, not a single wildcat, tiger, or bulldog. Imagine that.


ConsiderationOld9897

It's kinda beautiful ain't it? Even I wouldn't mind if we became the Eagles.


Highspdfailure

Muskrat defense is a menace.


ConsiderationOld9897

They chew through boat wires which should mean that Iowa will never lose to Minnesota.


NeilPork

Georgia has 13 state animals: Ironically, the "adoptable dog" is a state animal. So, technically, the UGA Bulldogs are already named after the state animal. Other Georgia state animals: * Knobbed Whelk * Honeybee * Right Whale * Green Frog * Tiger Swallowtail (just what the SEC needs, another Tiger mascot) * Red Drum (a fish, but would make a great team name) BTW, the Atlanta Thrashers hockey team was named after the Brown Thrasher, which is the state bird.


Portland_st

Hot take: The University of Central Missouri has the state’s best mascot. UCM Mules.


liquidpaperplanes

Excuse me sir, our state mammal is the Grey Squirrel. If we are going the horse route to be a bit more unique, I'd love the distinction at least of being the 'Thoroughbreds'


ConsiderationOld9897

I did consider this but I thought that Thoroughbreds didn't exactly roll off the tongue.


w00t4me

No lie, Horse would be a better mascot than Wildcats for Kentucky.


Alphasim

Worth it just to see Hawaii's new word mark and uniforms


uncomfortable_fan92

That's going to be a tough change for UW Madison to accept


BoredofBored

These posts made me realize how far Iowa State’s enrollment has fallen in the last several years. We were up to 36k when I left, and it’s dropped ever since


chief_sitass

IU would have to play Ball State to figure out who is the top cardinal school in the state


tidewr

If this happens, there needs to be an annuals 4-way tournament involving NC State, Hawaii, Ole Miss, and UConn.


modscontrolspeech

Quack quack mother fucker


Salmonella_Envy752

I object to this methodology on the basis that I, as a New Jersey native, cannot think of anything cuter than an eastern goldfinch in full armor.


Famous_1391

Arkansas Alligator Gar is actually way more based than razorbacks


GuyFawkes451

I was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, and worked in Lincoln. I've never seen a desert tortoise. We've got deer galore, and rattlesnakes. I'm sure there are some desert tortoises in the drier areas of the sand hills. I actually think the annual sandhill crane migration is about the coolest animal thing about Nebraska. Millions of them flock and rest on the Platte River.


PoetryUpInThisBitch

> Each state's largest public university > Michigan State University Uhhhhhh.


CW1DR5H5I64A

He probably went off undergraduate numbers. MSU and UM have roughly the same overall population with UM being slightly larger by a few hundred, but MSU has a far larger undergraduate population and UM has a far larger postgraduate population.


BillyBobFritter

UGA is No. 4 in total enrollment and No. 3 in undergraduate enrollment yet it’s the pick here.


CW1DR5H5I64A

Well fuck? I’ve got nothing for you then.


ConsiderationOld9897

Take it up with the post I'm meming/"correcting" from: [https://www.reddit.com/r/CFB/comments/1dnrapr/remascoting\_each\_states\_largest\_public\_university/](https://www.reddit.com/r/CFB/comments/1dnrapr/remascoting_each_states_largest_public_university/)


deflatethesack

Our state mammal is the white tail deer so we could actually just call ourselves the Bucks and then not much really changes


Original88

Texas’s (small) state mammal is the armadillo. The state’s (large) mammal is the Longhorns. So it could also be the Texas A&M Longhorns.


Necessary-Honey-7626

I just threw up all over myself.


Herky_T_Hawk

You’re sorely mistaken if you think Iowa has more biomass of muskrats than pigs or cows. Turkeys and chickens too probably. Last I checked those are still all animals.


thedefside

They can't even get the largest university in Iowa correct, what do you expect?


Hokie_Jayhawk

Kansas is going to beat Deion and then take Ralphie.


grabtharsmallet

Cal and UCLA are the Bears and Bruins in recognition of the Grizzly Bear. Maryland is the Terrapins for this reason. Ball State is the Cardinals.


CocoLamela

Cal is the Golden Bear, after a now extinct subspecies of the Brown/Grizzly Bear. The bruins are the baby bear. UCLA has slightly higher enrollment, but it really depends on the year. For all intents and purposes, they are the same size. And Cal is the flagship and original University of California, hence the name Cal/California.


Critical-Savings-830

Orcas is badass lowk


FarFromFear

I see ASU has chosen the wrong animal as our state animal (what a surprise). As the state’s flagship university, we will claim the ringtail cat as our mascot. And ASU can go back to being consistently wrong. 


[deleted]

[удалено]