Colonel Ebirt

Colonel Ebirt
Colonel Ebirt giving a 'thumbs up' prior to a Tribe football game.
University	The College of William & Mary
Conference	CAA
Description	Green and Gold Frog
Origin of name	"Tribe" spelled backwards
First seen	2001-2005

Colonel Ebirt was the unofficial school mascot for The College of William & Mary from 2001–2005. ^[1] A green and gold frog that donned a tri-corner hat, Colonel Ebirt was originally used as a promotional tool for Colonial Williamsburg. It became involved with the College athletics program when someone from the William & Mary gymnastics program volunteered to wear the costume.^[1] "Ebirt" is Tribe spelled backwards (also, note that "ebirt" is analogous to the more commonly heard frog call "ribit"), and "Colonel" comes from the school's historical and geographical ties to Williamsburg, Virginia, specifically that of Colonial Williamsburg.^[2][3]

The athletic department decided to "retire" Ebirt upon the conclusion of the 2005–06 school year.^[4] On April 6th, 2010, William and Mary announced that their mascot to replace Ebirt was a griffin.

While the common mythology at William & Mary at the time of Ebirt's reign was that it was simply 'an asexual amorphous green blob', the mascot of a green and gold frog was actually chosen to raise awareness of the threatened/endangered status of many of the world's species, while simultaneously highlighting the official school colors.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Griffin – William & Mary's mascot successor to Colonel Ebirt
• List of U.S. college mascots

References and notes

1. ^ ^{a b} "Colonel Ebirt is No More". DoG Street Journal. http://www.dogstreetjournal.com/story/2723. Retrieved 2008-07-24. 
2. ^ Ed Williams (June 22, 2009), "Wanted: William and Mary mascot. Got an idea?", The Virginian-Pilot, http://hamptonroads.com/2009/06/wanted-william-and-mary-mascot-got-idea 
3. ^ "Williamsburg, Virginia", USA Today, 23 April 2007, http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20070423/a_states23.art.htm 
4. ^ Since Colonel Ebirt was never an official mascot, the term "retire" is used loosely.

External links

• Interview with the Colonel Ebirt costume wearers