Cy the Cardinal

Cy the Cardinal
Cy during a football game
University	Iowa State University
Conference	Big 12
Description	Cyclones
First seen	1954 [1]

Cy the Cardinal is the mascot of Iowa State University's sports teams.

Origin of Cy

Since a cyclone was difficult to depict in costume, a cardinal was selected from the cardinal and gold of the official school colors. A cardinal-like bird was introduced at the 1954 homecoming pep rally. A contest was conducted to select a name for the mascot, and the winning entry of Cy was submitted by 17 people. The first to submit the name, Mrs. Ed Ohlsen, won a cardinal and gold stadium blanket.^[1]

Recognition

Cy Walking logo

Cy has won two national mascot challenges since 2007; the CBS Sportsline Most Dominant College Mascot on Earth in 2007^[2], and the CapitalOne Bowl National Mascot of the Year in 2008.^[3]

See also

List of U.S. college mascots

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} "Origin of Cy". Cyclones.com. 11 August 2006. http://www.cyclones.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10700&KEY=&ATCLID=537489. Retrieved 4 August 2011. 
2. ^ "About Cyclone athletics". Iowa State University Relations. http://www.iastate.edu/about/athletics.php. Retrieved 4 August 2011. 
3. ^ "Cy Wins National Mascot Challenge". Cyclones.com. 1 January 2009. http://www.cyclones.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10700&ATCLID=3638895. Retrieved 4 August 2011. 

Vote Cy in the 2011 Capital One mascot challenge at www.capitalonebowl.com