These 15 Colleges Have the Most Unique Mascots

College mascots engineer the atmosphere and pageantry at the center of sporting excellence on campus.

And where once these bearers of good luck were live beasts, talismans are these days more likely to be students dressed in crazy costumes patrolling the touchlines.

Read on to learn more about the wild stories behind some of the most unique mascots at U.S. colleges.

1. Western Kentucky

Big Red

Western Kentucky's mascot almost defies description, but the crimson-colored costume is indisputably popular at football games on campus.

The WKU database sheds some light on the mystery mascot's origin, stating: "Big Red was conceived in the fall of 1979 in the mind of Ralph Carey. Ralph created a suit based on amusement park characters."

2. University of Arkansas at Monticello

"Weezy" the Boll Weevil

UA Mont's "Weezy" the Boll Weevil is considered one of the world's most unique collegiate mascots.

The mascot ties its roots back to a time when UAM was an agricultural and mechanical college and this insect laid waste to millions of tons of cotton.

3. University of California Santa Cruz

Banana Slugs

The Banana Slug, a bright yellow, slimy, shell-less mollusk commonly found on forest floors, has been the mascot for UC Santa Cruz coed teams since the university's early years.

The unusual mascot's official web page states: "The students' embrace of such a lowly creature was their response to the fierce athletic competition fostered at most American universities."

4. Ohio State

Brutus Buckeye

The beloved Brutus Buckeye is a 6ft 9" humanoid athlete with a bizarrely bulbous face wearing a permanently surprised expression while cheering on his team at Ohio State with gusto.

The team's endearing official cheerleader has just marked its 55th birthday and was in 2007 proudly inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame.

5. University of Wisconsin

Bucky

While badgers in various forms had been University of Wisconsin mascots for decades, the version dubbed Bucky, sporting a cardinal and white sweater, was first fully realised in 1940.

Sporting events, community service requests and even the occasional wedding mean seven college students are reportedly required to meet all the calls on the popular mascot's time.

6. University of Nebraska

Lil' Red

With his backwards baseball cap and glassy-eyed expression Lil' Red is the college's newest mascot, making his debut in the 1993 season in an attempt to appeal to younger Husker fans.

Lil' Red proved an instant hit with fans and has gone on to win two major awards, including the 1999 NCAA National Mascot Competition, before being inducted into the 2007 Mascot Hall of Fame.

7. Penn State University

Nittany Lion

Nittany Lion originated as Penn State's mascot at a baseball game against Princeton in 1904, when the team fabricated him on the spot in response to their opponent's famous Beagle tiger.

Penn is clearly proud of its famous mascot and has even listed the name of every "Man in the Suit" who has donned the costume over the years.

8. University of Tennessee

Smokey

University of Tennessee athletics teams dubbed "The Volunteers" and nicknamed "the Vols", use both a live and a costumed version of Smokey.

The anthropomorphic version of the hound dog roams the sidelines with pizazz and has been awarded National Mascot of the Year three times at the Universal Cheerleading Association College National Championship.

9. University of Delaware

YoUDee

YoUDee's proud lineage purportedly stretches back to the Revolutionary War. It and the Blue Hens before it have a reputation for courage and ferocity in battle, traits UD's athletic teams wished to be associated with.

Clearly appreciative of its 6ft 8" illustrious talisman, the college writes: "YoUDee's stylish size 28FF blue and yellow sneakers help it soar through the air with hangtime measured in minutes."

10. University of Oklahoma

Boomer and Sooner

Boomer and Sooner are UO's two mascots and its sports teams, the Oklahoma Sooners, while the main mascot present at football games is the Sooner Schooner, a Conestoga wagon pulled by two white ponies, Boomer and Sooner.

However, due to occasional restrictions relating to the use of live animals, a pair of costumed anthropomorphic versions of the horses were also created in 2005.

11. Louisiana State University

Mike the Tiger

Mike is the legendary live Bengal Tiger serving as the graphic image of all LSU Athletics teams.

In 2005, a $3.7 million 15,000-square foot environment was created for the reign of Mike V, while in 2017 fall semester at LSU, the era of Mike VII officially began.

12. University of Texas

Bevo

The University of Texas' mascot is a longhorn steer in a tradition dating back to 1917, when he reportedly replaced "Piggy" the bulldog.

However, the act of using a powerful live animal at live events has reportedly backfired on some occasions, with Bevo II said to have once charged at an SMU cheerleader, while his successor escaped from his enclosure and apparently roamed freely on the college campus for two days.

13. University of Georgia

Uga

Uga has been a handsome mainstay of Georgia's Bulldogs games since 1956, while every member of the Uga lineage looked after by the same family.

The college is clearly passionate about its canine mascot, writing on a page dedicated to the dog, who has his own air-conditioned dog house: "For the past 20 years, Uga's jerseys have been custom-made at the beginning of each season from the same material used for the players' jerseys."

14. University of Colorado

Ralphie the Buffalo

While Ralphie has more than once been declared one of the best live mascots in sports, the team's animal cheerleader is often erroneously labeled male.

This 1,200-pound buffalo is frequently seen firing up the crowds when being led racing around the field both before games and at halftime by her handlers.

15. McDaniel College

Green Terror

This truly weird mascot made its first appearance in the October 1923 edition of Western Maryland monthly, in an article recounting a WMC football game where the 11 players are dubbed "green terrors."

While the Green Terror has seen several incarnations, including a wolf-like critter, a bobcat and even a leopard, the current look is some approximation of a hideous monster.