Before Charlie Coyote, there was Snoopy
Some schools believe the best way to hype up fans on game day is bringing a living, breathing animal onto the turf.
The University of Georgia’s live mascot, Uga the bulldog, riles fans up before every game by panting and drooling. Fans at the University of Texas are grateful Bevo the longhorn, who could easily impale anyone with his curved horns, is relatively calm in front of a crowd of 100,000 people. And while a motorcycle leads the USD football team onto the DakotaDome turf on Saturdays, the University of Colorado football team is spearheaded by a buffalo named Ralphie.
Though Charlie the Coyote is a pile of fur without the sweaty individual manning his limbs, USD, over 50 years ago, had a live mascot of its own.
In September of 1965, “Snoopy,” a five-month-old coyote pup, was introduced to “her new owners, the Student Body,” at a Saturday night football game, according to an article published by The Volante.
Union Director R. E. Walde said Snoopy was “very affectionate and likable” and as “intelligent as an average dog,” the article stated.
Snoopy was raised in captivity and bought by donors when she was a month-and-a-half old. She was housed on campus, but not allowed to run free, as Walde worried hunters would care “more for the bounty than for Snoopy.”
Though Snoopy enjoyed hanging out with her “special friends, the cheerleaders,” basketball was her favorite game, as she was “intrigued” by bouncing basketballs, according to The Volante.
