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Slice of Life

Syracuse’s Otto the Orange ranked No. 8 best mascot in college football

By Rachel GilbertDevelopment Editor

Otto the Orange has been named the No. 8 mascot in college football by Sports Illustrated. The title comes in the same year ESPN ranked the Orange as the number one mascot in the ACC.

Florida State University’s Chief Osceola topped the list, with the University of Georgia’s Uga the bulldog in second and Louisiana State University’s Mike the Tiger in third.

The fuzzy fruit was described as “meaner than he looks — and always causing more trouble than he should be.”

Otto first came to life in 1980 when a cheerleader designed the costume, according to the SU archives. Sports Illustrated suggested a number of candidates for a new official mascot in 1984, and orange was proposed, described as a, “juiced-up, bumbling citrus fruit from which two legs protrude.”



In 1995, an official mascot, a wolf, was chosen. The students who had been acting as the orange mascot launched a campaign for Otto to become the official face of the school. The Orange was named the official mascot by Chancellor Kenneth “Buzz” Shaw in early December 1995.

“If you live in the area, they love to see the little furry guy,” Shaw said in a 2010 Daily Orange article. “He’s non-threatening. He signifies the school color. I think that’s why we wanted to keep him around.”

Snapshots

Since, the fruit has steadily grown in popularity, cementing himself as the face of Syracuse University athletics.

This year marks 10 years of Otto’s Army, the student cheering section named for the mascot. The group is famed for camping outside of the Carrier Dome for days on end, waiting to cheer on their favorite sports teams.

Students that don the famous suit are sworn to secrecy about their role, but past Otto’s have shared some of their experiences wearing the costume.

In a recent email to the SU community, Chancellor Kent Syverud urged community members to look to Otto as a symbol of diversity, equity and inclusion.

“Otto reminds us that being unique is OK; that there is no true normal; that each of us—at our best—can be truly and powerfully individual,” Syverud said in the email.





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