15 Dumbest Mascots in the 2015 NCAA Tournament

By Seth Lassen

15 Dumbest Mascots in the 2015 NCAA Tournament

Xavier Blue Blob — No sport has a wider collection of unusual and downright baffling mascots than college basketball. There's 68 schools in the NCAA Tournament and a whole lot of dumb mascots to choose from.

I present the worst of the worst -- the 15 dumbest mascots in the 2015 NCAA Tournament.

15. Ohio State Buckeyes

Ohio State Buckeyes Brutus

15. Ohio State Buckeyes

Ohio State Buckeyes Brutus — Mascot Name: Brutus the Buckeye

The state of Ohio is historically known as the "Buckeye State." The Ohio Buckeye is the state tree of Ohio and the university officially adopted the "Buckeyes" nickname in 1950.

14. UC Irvine Anteaters

Peter the Anteater UC Irvine

14. UC Irvine Anteaters

Peter the Anteater UC Irvine — Mascot Name: Peter the Anteater

UC Irvine is making their first ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament and they're bringing a unique mascot along with them.

13. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers Mascot

13. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers Mascot — Mascot Name: Chauncey

According the school's website, a chanticleer is a "proud and fierce rooster," and is derived from Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, specifically "The Nun's Priest Tale." Chanticleer is properly pronounced SHON-ti-clear.

12. Duke Blue Devils

Duke Blue Devils Mascot

12. Duke Blue Devils

Duke Blue Devils Mascot — Mascot Name: The Blue Devil

During World War I, "les Diables Blues" were well-known French soldiers known for their effective trench-warfare techniques in the French Alps. Duke's sports teams were first called the Blue Devils in 1922.

11. Maryland Terrapins

Maryland Terrapins Mascot

11. Maryland Terrapins

maryland terrapins mascot — Mascot Name: Testudo

A terrapin is a small edible turtle found in coastal marshes on the east coast. How intimidating!

10. Xavier Musketeers

Xavier Musketeers Mascot, Blue Blob

10. Xavier Musketeers

Xavier Musketeers Mascot, Blue Blob — Mascot Names: D'Artagnan and The Blue Blob

D'Artagnan serves as the official mascot of the Xavier Musketeers and the Blue Blob is the secondary mascot for the school's athletic teams. Seriously, what what the thinking? The Blue Blob?

9. Kansas Jayhawks

Kansas Jayhawks Mascot

9. Kansas Jayhawks

Kansas Jayhawks Mascot — Mascot Names: Big Jay and Baby Jay

A "Jayhawk" is a mythical bird, combining the blue jay with and the sparrow hawk. Baby Jay, the smaller of the Jayhawks, is the best friend of Big Jay and "hatched" as one of the school's mascots in 1971.

8. Wichita State Shockers

Wichita State Shockers Mascot

8. Wichita State Shockers

Wichita State Shockers Mascot — Mascot Name: WuShock

This might be the ugliest mascot in the history of mascots. The "Shockers" nickname is meant to reflect the university's heritage. Early students earned money by harvesting, or shocking, wheat in nearby fields.

7. North Carolina Tar Heels

UNC Tar Heels Mascot

7. North Carolina Tar Heels

UNC Tar Heels Mascot — Mascot Name: Rameses

There's a couple conflicting stories with the origin of the "Tar Heels" moniker. The most accepted story hails back to the Revolutionary War, when after fording a river in eastern North Carolina, British troops discovered their feet covered with tar. It is thought that some North Carolinians dumped tar in the river to slow down the invading army.

6. Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma Sooners Mascot

6. Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma Sooners Mascot — Mascot Name: Sooner Schooner

The Sooner Schooner is the official mascot of the University of Oklahoma. It is a scaled down replica of the Conestoga wagon used by settlers in the Oklahoma Territory, and pulled by two ponies named Boomer and Sooner.

5. Purdue Boilermakers

Purdue Boilermakers Mascot

5. Purdue Boilermakers

Purdue Boilermakers Mascot — Mascot Name: Purdue Pete

The official mascot of the Boilermakers is a replica of a Victorian-era locomotive. Purdue Pete first began cheering on the university's sports teams in 1956.

4. St. John's Red Storm

St. John's Red Storm

4. St. John's Red Storm

St. John's Red Storm — Mascot Name: Johnny Thunderbird

St. John's had the nickname of the "Redmen," but changed it in 1994 because it referenced Native American culture. Johnny the Thunderbird made his debut in 2009.

3. Albany Great Danes

Albany Great Danes Mascot

3. Albany Great Danes

albany greatdanes mascot — Mascot Name: Damien

The university changed their nickname from the Pedagogues to the Great Danes in 1965. While the switch was an improvement for sure, they still could've done a whole lot better.

2. UAB Blazers

UAB Mascot

2. UAB Blazers

UAB Blazers Mascot — Mascot Name: Blaze

Blaze, a fire-breathing European dragon, is the official mascot of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. A campuswide vote chose "Blazers" as the school's nickname, in hopes the teams would blaze a new trail in college athletics.

1. Manhattan Jaspers

Manhattan Jaspers

1. Manhattan Jaspers

Manhattan Jaspers — Mascot Name: None

First of all, the school has no mascot, which is about the lamest thing a college could do. The "Jaspers" nickname comes from Brother Jasper of Mary, who served at the College in the late 19th century.

Seth Lassen is a writer for RantSports. “Like” him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter @Seth_Lassen.

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