A Brief History of Each UC Nickname and Mascot

Berkeley: Oski the bear was introduced as Berkley’s official mascot on September 26, 1941. Prior to this date, live bears were used as mascots. His name derives from the spirited yell, “Oski Wow-wow”.

Davis: Gunrock the mustang is named after Gun Rock, an actual mustang who was the offspring of English Triple Crown winner Rock Sand and race mare Gunfire. The live mustang was brought to UC Davis in 1921 by the U.S. Army Cavalry. A traditional mascot was created later and remained the official mascot until the 1970s when he was replaced by Ollie the mustang. After years of confusion about the mascot’s nickname, Gunrock the mustang was officially named the UC Davis mascot in 2003.

Irvine: UC Irvine chose the anteater when, in 1965, students were allowed to submit mascot candidates to be voted on in a campus election. The mascot was inspired by “Peter the Anteater” (which is, coincidentally, the official mascot’s name) from the comic “B.C.” The anteater won the election with 56% of the votes, a narrow win over “none of the above”.

Los Angeles: UCLA originally adopted a bear cub as its mascot and became known as the grizzles. However, upon entering the Pacific Coast Conference, UCLA had to change their mascot because the University of Montana was also the grizzlies. UCLA then adopted the Bruins. The first student mascot, Joe Bruin, appeared in the mid-1960s. In 1967, the first woman mascot, Josephine Bruin, joined Joe as the official UCLA mascot.

Merced: The bobcat was chosen to be UC Merced’s nickname because during the construction of UC Merced, real bobcat tracks were discovered in fresh concrete. Boomer the mascot is actually a live golden bobcat living in the local Applegate Zoo. The name Boomer was chosen from more than 100 entries. The name comes from Boomer’s Fun Center in Fresno.

Riverside: Highlanders were chosen to be the official nickname in a write-in campaign led by the men’s basketball team. In addition, UC Riverside’s campus has the highest elevation of all the UC campuses and the Box Springs Mountains near the campus are known as the Highlands. Scotty the bear, the official mascot, has had a half-blue face in homage to the Scottish hero in Braveheart, William Wallace ever since 1998 when student-athletes voiced that they didn’t want a teddy bear in a dress to represent them, but rather a ferocious bear that looked like it could tear the opposing team apart.

San Diego: The Tritons became UC San Diego’s official mascot in 1964 due to the close proximity to the Pacific Ocean and also it’s connection to the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. In Greek mythology, Triton is the god of the sea, son of Poseidon, and half-man, half-fish.

San Francisco: UC San Francisco does not have an athletics department so there is no official mascot or nickname.

Santa Barbara: UC Santa Barbara officially adopted the Gauchos in 1936, replacing the Roadrunners as their nickname. A gaucho is basically a cowboy found primarily in Argentina, Uruguay, Southern Chile, and the southernmost state of Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul. The official mascot’s name of UC Santa Barbara is Olé or, unofficially, the phantom of the Thunderdome.

Santa Cruz: Without a doubt the most unusual nickname on this list, the banana slug was the unofficial mascot after UC Santa Cruz felt that too many colleges were placing too much of an emphasis on winning sports rather than happily participating. When UC Santa Cruz needed an official team name in 1980, it came down to the sea lions and the banana slugs. In1986, an overwhelming majority of students voted to keep the banana slugs as their mascot. The mascot’s name is Sammy the Slug.