Seymour d'Campus

Seymour d'Campus is the mascot for The University of Southern Mississippi. He attends Golden Eagle sporting events all year round including Southern Miss Football, Lady Eagle Volleyball, Lady Eagle Soccer, Golden and Lady Eagle Basketball games, as well as many other community and University functions and personal appearances. He is also active in various radio and television promotions.

Seymour competes in the UCA Mascot National competition when the opportunity presents itself. In 2000, he ranked 21st in the nation; in 2001, he ranked 11th; and in 2002, he ranked 7th. In 2003 he ranked 15th, and was also chosen to be a member of the Capital One's All American Mascot Team along with schools such as Miami (FL), Penn State, Alabama, Tennessee and Syracuse. This is a very prestigious award, as only 12 of over 250 schools were selected.

History

Over the years, Southern Miss has experienced an evolution of mascots. The earliest nickname for the University’s athletic teams was Tigers, but early teams were also referred to as Normalites. In 1924, the mascot was changed to the Yellow Jackets.

When the school was renamed Mississippi Southern College in 1940 a name change for the athletic teams was fitting. In April 1940, the student body voted to name the teams Confederates. The teams were called the Confederates during fall 1940 and spring 1941. In September 1941, Confederates was dropped, and the teams were named Southerners. Several years later, in 1953, General Nat (for Nathan Bedford Forrest) was approved as the Southerners’ mascot. The first General Nat was Archie Hughes, and Nat’s horse was named Son of Dixie.

In 1972, alumni, faculty, students and staff were asked to submit new names for the athletic teams, and an ad hoc committee appointed by the Alumni Association voted on the submissions. The present mascot, the Golden Eagles, was chosen as the athletic teams’ name, and the new mascot was eventually named Seymour, an individual in a golden eagle costume. (Two students usually share the responsibility of portraying Seymour.)

Seymour’s full name is Seymour d’Campus (a pun,or play on words, on "see more [of] the campus"). The name was inspired by the 1984 World's Fair mascot, Seymour d’Fair (a pun, or play on words, on "see more [of] the Fair"), who was played by former Southern Miss mascot Jeff Davis ’83.