Professional sports have mascots, but don’t embrace them to the extent and uniqueness of colleges. With a few hundred schools competing at the Division I level, there is no shortage of iconic mascots.

Mascots like the Wildcats and Bulldogs are repeated throughout universities, but there are also some niche mascots, especially at the mid-major level which you may not know about. Here is a list of 10 mid-majors with a fun face encapsulating its school pride.

UC Irvine — Peter the Anteater

Since 1965, Peter the Anteater has stood alone amongst Division I mascots as the only anteater to roam the sidelines at his school’s athletic competitions. When the school was in need of a new mascot, two players from the university’s inaugural water polo team proposed an anteater after seeing a comic titled “B.C.” by Johnny Hart. A number of California universities repped bear mascots in accordance with the state’s identity, but after a student vote, the uniqueness of the anteater won the hearts of the university and has been the face of the school since.

Akron – Zippy the Kangaroo

In 1953, the Akron student council voted to officially bring Zippy to fruition after a vote to decide the university’s official mascot. Along with the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) and the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), Akron is not alone in its kangaroo mascot. What makes Zippy unique, however, is that it is a female. A number of schools across the country have primary male mascots, with a female costume that makes occasional appearances, but Zippy is the lone mascot in the country which stands alone representing a university as a female and became the first female mascot to sign an NIL deal in 2024.

Campbell – Gaylord the Camel

Amidst a tragedy in 1900, the lone camel mascot in Division I NCAA athletics was allegedly born as J.A. Campbell, the president and founder of a small university watched his campus burn to the ground. Shortly after, Campbell’s friend Zachary Taylor Kivett was quoted encouraging Campbell saying “Your name's Campbell; then get a hump on you!” Campbell thought Kivett had referred to him as a Camel, birthing the school’s mascot. To this day, the school has not confirmed the exact origins, but regardless of which story is true, Gaylord stands as the nation’s only sideline-roaming Camel, and is joined by his female counterpart Gladys on occasion.

Drexel – Mario the Magnificent (Dragon)

Until 1928, the then Drexel Institute of Art, Science, and Industry competed as the “Engineers”. The name didn’t necessarily stick right away, with the “Drexelites” and the “Blue and Gold” still being used as names for the university even after the Dragon’s inception. Today, Mario the Magnificent is not the only dragon mascot in the country, but he has by far one of, if not the coolest name in the country. He got the name as an ode to Mario V. Mascioloi, an alumni of the university who attended every single basketball game for the school while he served on the board of trustees for over 20 years.

Saint Louis – The Billiken

To many fans, what they are looking at when they see The Billiken is a mystery, and to some extent, so is its origins. A 1908 design of The Billiken was patented by Florence Pretz and put the mascot on the map. Popular stories linked the mascot to the school starting in 1910, when John Bender, who took over as head coach of the football team, was said to have looked like a billiken. This jump-started the “Bender’s Billikens” nickname. Regardless of the origin story, Saint Louis is proudly represented by a mascot that is the only of its kind and represents “things as they ought to be.”

Saint Peter’s — Peter the Peacock

Like the other Peter on this list, Peter the Peacock’s identity is unique to any other mascot in the country, as Saint Peter’s is the only university with a peacock as its mascot. Peter is not only one of the more fun mascots visually, but is an ode to the school’s history. Following a 12-year period where the school was closed due to World War I, Saint Peter’s reopened in 1930 as the Peacocks. The land the school occupies used to be referred to as the “Pavonia”, a Latin phrase for “Land of the Peacock”, and it’s mythological meaning is to be “reborn better than before.”

Youngstown State – Pete the Penguin

How does a school in Ohio–a midwest state with no ocean access–have a penguin as its mascot? As the legend goes, it started with the 1932-33 men’s basketball team. In an away game at West Liberty Teacher’s College in 1933, an unheated visitors locker room forced the players to flap their arms and stamp their feet to stay warm. The opposing coach said they “looked like a bunch of penguins,” and the name stuck. The name didn’t go official, however, until 1938 when the school first introduced a football team. Today, Pete and his female companion Penny represent Youngstown State as a mascot you can’t find anywhere else in Division I.

Wichita State – WuShock the Shocker

Embracing Kansas’ identity as the “Wheat State”, WuShock has been Wichita State’s mascot on an official basis since 1948. The mascot reportedly first appeared in an advertisement for a 1904 football game between the Shockers–Fairmount College at the time–and the Chilocco Indians. The team manager decided on the name because the team’s players spent the offseason working in the wheat fields as a source of income. People tend to poke fun at Kansas for having nothing but fields and plains, so Wichita State embraced the Great Plains identity to create one of the most unique mascots in the country, and one no other university possesses.

Pepperdine — Willie the Wave

Given Pepperdine’s home of Malibu, California, Willie the Wave doesn’t have as creative of a backstory as other mascots on this list, but he embodies the Southern California culture of the university. He hasn’t, however, always been the face of Pepperdine. The school’s original mascot in 1945 was Roland the Wave, derived from the “Roll on, you Waves!” cheer. In 1951, students replaced the Wave with Joe the Pelican, but it was short-lived, and Willie the Wave was introduced in 1952. A few different versions of Willie occupied the position until 1996 when he was replaced by King Neptune. For three years after King Neptune’s reign, Pepperdine was mascot-less, before the modern version of Willie, rocking a floral shirt and orange shorts, made his return, running through today.

Cal State Bakersfield — Rowdy the Roadrunner

As one of just two schools donning the Roadrunner mascot, Cal State Bakersfield has been represented by Rowdy since 1970. Ironically, the only other Roadrunner mascot in Division I–that of the University of Texas-San Antonio–is also named Rowdy. In choosing a mascot, Roadrunners, which are found frequently in the area of the school, was an easy decision, winning the 1970 student vote 368 votes to 15. So no, Rowdy’s emergence as the mascot was not by some unique means of selection, but the inspiration behind his selection was. A group from Buttonwillow, California was responsible for presenting the idea of a Roadrunner because it was the mascot of Buttonwillow Elementary School.