The power of a college mascot
He’s the only one students consistently creep out of their dorms to come see. But he’s not a beloved professor — he’s a bulldog.
They all talk about him like he’s a celebrity:
“He’s the reason I came to college here.”
“The only thing I looked forward to at graduation was getting a picture with him.”
“It’s like meeting Mickey Mouse at Disney World.”
He’s almost 35. Well, 35 in dog years. His tongue sticks out over a pointy snaggletooth. He falls asleep at every basketball game, and drools like nobody’s business. His photo is plastered all over campus signage. He’s got dog beds inside every building. His face is even on a Volkswagen Atlas that’s often spotted circling campus.
Griff II, aka George, is Drake University’s live English bulldog mascot. He’s not the reason I chose this college, but the impact he’s made on my life here confirmed I made the right decision.
“Griff II is everyone’s dog, and we strive daily to live up to this by making him present and accessible to each person in the Drake community however we can,” says Erin Bell, Griff II’s owner and the live mascot program director at Drake.
Mascots excite us. They can do more than just stand on the sidelines and perform funny dances at football games. They have the power to bring us together, and the strong relationships we have with them are proven to boost mental health.
It’s instinctual to like mascots
Bell has been the live mascot program director since its inception in 2015. She owned Porterhouse, an English bulldog that the Drake community embraced. When he died, the university asked her to start an official program. First came Griff, and then Griff II in 2020. I serve as the “Grifftern” — Griff II’s intern. I follow the dog around, snap photos for social media, and pose him for pictures.
I’m glorified paparazzi and part-time drool-wiper — and I love my job.
“Hi, baby!” says the girl who always greets Griff II with a kiss on his smushed snout. Another carries dog treats in her pocket just for the occasion of meeting him randomly on campus. People will sprint across campus to pet him. Griff II’s impact runs deep.
People unite behind things that make them happy, including mascots, says Joel Frederickson, professor of psychology at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota. It’s why they’re so important to us; it’s psychological — even instinctual.
“We still have the primal need to belong to a group,” Frederickson says. A mascot can act as a “signal” for group identification, he says. Other signals for group identification can be religion, nationality, or age.
Since you’re around the age when you’re figuring out where to go to college, you’re probably wondering how you’re going to fit in. You might have to say goodbye to your family and lifelong friends. But more importantly, you’re probably thinking about your own identity. Who will you be in college? What kind of person do you want others to see?
Choosing a college with a mascot that you love could just give you an easier way to form new bonds with others. Frederickson says that belonging to a group is good for your health and a mascot could serve as a way for people to forge relationships.
Mascots can be good for your mental health
More teenagers than ever are facing anxiety and depression. Unfortunately, that doesn’t change much in college.
A 2021 study by the University of Michigan asked almost 100,000 students at more than 100 colleges if they were feeling depressed or anxious. More than 40 percent of those students answered “yes.”
But having something you can rely on and trust is a way to combat this.
“Good relationships are a buffer against stress. Good relationships are healing,” Frederickson says. “People with stronger connections, on average, have less anxiety and depression.”
Mascots unite us
How do you go about creating these relationships? By finding something in common with others. In college, that could be rallying around the dancing mascot — or the live bulldog at Drake that poses for pictures and has nearly 12,000 followers on Instagram. He’s also on TikTok, posting twice a week.
Seeing him can bring a serotonin release, making you feel calm and comfortable, and that’s thanks to his therapy dog certification, Bell says. Griff II appears on campus during finals week to help calm students’ nerves and bring them a little bit of joy. He goes from building to building, person to person, asking for them to pet him, which he might not realize they need just as badly as he does.
“He is proven to have the temperament and disposition to help people cope with stress, anxiety, and all other emotions on the spectrum,” Bell says.
From my perspective, I have seen that there’s something pretty unique to Griff II’s position as a live mascot. Spike, Drake’s costumed bulldog mascot, has a different skill set than Griff II. Spike can rally the crowd at a basketball game by waving his arms to encourage fans to stand up and cheer, but Griff II can be cuddled by a struggling student on a rough day. I’ve seen him fall asleep sitting up while a student was petting him.
Regardless, mascots bring people together.
So, when choosing if you’re going to join Herky the Hawk, Big Al, or a live mascot like Jonathan the Husky, don’t underestimate the impact your college’s mascot could have on your experience. You probably won’t be cuddling Brutus Buckeye, but you could make lifelong friends while cheering him on as he runs across the football field.
Griff II brings together countless people every school year, through athletics events, alumni reunions, and student activities, like the annual Beautiful Bulldog Contest.
“He is their dog,” Bell says. “As with any positive relationship built over time, these people tend to feel comfortable and safe in his presence.”
After the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, Griff II made a surprise delivery of cookies and a card to one Drake student from Turkey who watched the devastation unfold from thousands of miles away. The smile on her face when Griff II trotted through the door was reason enough for me to believe that Griff II must be doing something right.