15 College Football Mascots Who Always Get the Crowd Fired Up

There are many people, most of them living in Gainesville, Fla., who will tell you that Albert and Alberta are the official "first couple" of college football mascots. They can both be seen running around Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (aka The Swamp) keeping a crowd flooded in orange and royal blue pumped up with gator chomps and "Gator Bait" chants.

No one really knows what Big Red is supposed to be. Personally, it looks like a relative of an old McDonald's character, Grimace, except that Big Red happens to be red instead of purple. Regardless of what it is, Big Red has always been a huge hit at Western Kentucky games. Additionally, Big Red's popularity has grown so much that it can be seen in several ESPN commercials. Maybe one day, we can all learn what Big Red is actually supposed to be.

Many people have wondered how this mascot has anything to do with a hurricane. However, it is more related than most would think since the ibis is a marsh bird that's known for its bravery as a hurricane approaches. Folklore states that birds look to the ibis for leadership and to know when a hurricane is coming and when it's finally subsided. Miami Hurricane fans look to Sebastian for leadership in terms of excitement and cheering on the Canes.

Otto has come a long way since Syracuse's original mascot: a Native American named "The Saltine Warrior." However, after a petition was passed to discontinue the use of the Saltine Warrior, Otto the Orange was born in 1980 and didn't become the school's official mascot until 1995. Currently, he is one of the most popular mascots in college sports largely due to his ability to get the whole Carrier Dome excited with his antics and cheers.

This mascot may seem confusing to some since Auburn is known to be the "The Tigers" and they do have a costumed tiger named "Aubie" as a mascot. However, a very important part of the Auburn culture is their battle cry "War Eagle." It serves as a term of endearment within the Auburn family. Therefore, they incorporated an actual eagle to represent them. Auburn is a town of around 50,000 where 80,000 show up just to see Nova fly.

Smokey, a bluetick coonhound, became the official mascot for the Tennessee Volunteers in 1993. He can be seen leading the football team through the tunnel and onto the field before kickoff. This entrance, along with the playing of the iconic tune "Rocky Top Tennessee," immediately gets everyone in Neyland Stadium charged up and ready for some Tennessee football. The costumed version of Smokey is good, but nothing beats the real thing.

Sparty was first introduced to the Michigan State football crowd back in 1989 and has been a huge hit with the Spartan fans ever since. A huge reason for this mascot's popularity is the costume design that features exaggerated foam muscles and a chin that looks like it can crack boulders. As a matter of fact, Sparty is so popular that he became the only non-athlete to ever grace the cover of the NCAA Football video game franchise in 2008.

Bevo is one of the most recognizable college sports mascots out there and is also considered to be the "toughest-looking animal mascot in sports." When you consider the fact that he is a literal longhorn steer with horns that measure 72 inches from tip to tip, it's easy to see why he's considered to be the toughest looking. However, Bevo is quite docile and the only excitement involving him is what he causes by his presence with the fans.

The mascot duties of the West Virginia Mountaineer are taken very seriously. In fact, it's taken so seriously that there are official Mountaineer Advisory Committee Manual Regulations that any appointed mascot must adhere to. Additionally, the Mountaineer has about 300 public appearances to make per year. However, these responsibilities don't stop him from getting the crowd hyped up with his loud antics and TD-celebrating rifle shooting.

Any fan of the SEC may be familiar with the costumed version of Mike the Tiger. However, a real-life version of the Bengal tiger exists and he generates a larger sense of buzz and excitement from the crowd without doing a single dance or cheer. The sheer power felt from his presence or an occasional roar serves as plenty of excitement for fans that are ready to yell "Geaux Tigers" as their football team gets ready for battle.

Looking like a direct relative to Donald Duck, Puddles is one of the most popular mascots in sports. He can be seen constantly interacting with fans and keeping them as fired up as possible during games. Puddles is also notorious for his attack on Shasta, the Houston Cougars' mascot, which became very popular on YouTube and other social media outlets. When a mascot is ready to literally fight, it's hard for the crowd not to be fired up too.

The Stanford Tree is easily one of the most bizarre mascots that exists on the planet. Despite its strange look, the Stanford Tree is extremely popular and has been subject to numerous pranks from rival universities that included a "costume-napping" incident. This tree's suffered a lot and it's no surprise that it's able to get the Stanford faithful super-excited for football games. It represents resiliency that they want for their players.

One would think that if a university's mascot is a buffalo, then perhaps a costumed version would suffice. However, this isn't the case for the University of Colorado as they feature Ralphie as their mascot and she is considered to be one of the best live mascots in all of sports. The "Ralphie Handlers" run out with the 500-plus pound buffalo prior to kickoff to get the home fans pumped up and cheering loud in preparation for their team to play.

Ever since 1956, there have been nine English bulldogs from the same lineage that have served as the esteemed mascot of the Georgia Bulldogs. Uga is extremely popular at Georgia home games and the crowd goes in a frenzy whenever he is brought out. Uga is also known for his famous bite attack in 1996 on Auburn receiver Robert Baker after scoring a touchdown. After seeing that, who can argue with Uga's ability to get the crowd pumped.

Ever since I saw Chief Osceola as a child, I always felt that he was the best mascot to grace any football field. When you have a person fully decked as the legendary Seminole leader riding on a horse with a flaming spear that gets driven into the 50-yard line, then you have yourself the ultimate mascot. If you want to see how much impact one mascot can have on a crowd, then look no further than FSU's Chief Osceola.