College Football: The 10 Creepiest Mascots

The concept of a mascot is both cool and creepy at the same time.  

On the cool side of things, you have an icon for an athletic program and a university that is supposed to promote school spirit.  On the other side, you have people dressed up in massively oversized costumes with oversized heads and exaggerated facial features that come across rather creepily at times.  

While there are many mascots that are rather awesome, like Penn State's Nittany Lion, Florida's Albert and Alberta Gator, Oregon's Fighting Duck and Michigan State's Sparty the Spartan, you have some ultra-creepy mascots that ruin the party for everyone.

Consider yourself warned: The pictures you are about to see may frighten you.

If you want to see the 10 creepiest mascots in all of college sports, then please read on.    

Pistol Pete: Oklahoma State University

The creepiest thing about Pistol Pete is the look on his face.  The emotionless, straight-face look doesn't work for him, especially when he holds a gun in his hands.  

If you've ever watched the movie The Strangers, you'll understand what I'm saying about how terrifying an emotionless face can be.  I'll be honest, Pistol Pete's face makes him look like a pure psycho.

There is nothing wrong with a cowboy and a gun, but there is something wrong with a cowboy with an oversized and emotionless face, wearing an enormous orange hat and holding a gun.  

In my opinion, if the Oklahoma State Cowboys wanted to change their mascot, they should make him look a lot more like Yosemite Sam than this current goofball.  

I won't be attending an Oklahoma State Cowboy's athletic event until they verify that Pistol Pete is attending regular counseling sessions.  

The "Man-Tree": Stanford University

Stanford has two things going for them:

1. Stanford is one of the most highly touted academic institutions in America.
2. They are also the proud owner of one of the creepiest mascots in America. 

Good work, Stanford!  Your creepy mascot that looks like a giant turd with some leaves on the top that ate a person goes down in history as one of the oddest mascots of all time. 

When you're one of the top academic institutions in America, you should probably have a mascot that is a little more dignified than an enormous "man-tree."  Making the situation even better is that their mascot makes no sense in relation to their nickname, the cardinals.   

Also, why can't the Stanford tree smile once in awhile? You're one of the greatest schools in the nation. Cheer up!

Gaylord the Camel: Campbell State University

What does Campbell University, located in Buies Creek, North Carolina, have to do with camels?  Absolutely nothing! That is why Campbell University's mascot, the fighting camel, just makes so much sense.

Rumor has it that the reason the fighting camel exists is because of a student that approached the founder of Campbell University after a fire on campus and said: "Your name's Campbell; then get a hump on you! We've got work to do."

If I had known that would work, i would have walked into the presidents office at Penn State University and said: "Your name is Rodney; then get a hump on you! We've got work to do," and Penn State could have also been the fighting camels. 

How can you make a camel less intimidating? Name him Gaylord, and that is exactly what Campbell University did.  Well done, Campbell University, you've created one of the weirdest and creepiest mascots of all time.  

The Fighing Okra: Delta State University

When kids don't think you're cool as a mascot, you're in a lot of trouble.  Just looking at the kid in the picture says it all.  I imagine what's going through his mind is: 

"I am never going to forgive my parents for making me get a picture with this enormous green monster that's wearing boxing gloves.  Oh, and who's Delta state anyway?"  

It has to be tough to get amped up in a football huddle when you're yelling, "We are the... FIGHTING OKRA, we are... a fighting vegetable!"

Poor Delta State.  You guys really got the shaft here.  

The Saluki: Southern Illinois University

Southern Illinois' mascot, the Saluki, wouldn't be on this list if it wasn't for his absolutely disturbing face. The Saluki goes a little far with the "intimidate your opponent" mantra by horrifying opponents by looking like a monster straight out of a Stephen King novel.

The look on the Saluki's face just screams, "I'm going to kill you and probably eat you, too."  While that look gets an A+ for intimidation, it gets an F- (i know that's not possible) for exuding school spirit.  

I guarantee any young kid that sees the Saluki will go running in the opposite direction.  

Kudos to the Saluki for at least wearing shorts and a t-shirt, which makes him look like a man/Egyptian-dog-monster hybrid.     

Oski the "Man-Bear": University of California-Berkeley

The California Golden Bears really dropped the ball on this one.  There are so many ways you can go with a bear mascot to make him look mascot-y and at the same time give him some swagger (e.g., the Cincinnati Bearcat).

If you want to know how to mess up having a bear as a mascot, look no further than the California Bears own "Oski" the golden bear.  He looks less like a bear and more like a freakish man-bear hybrid.  The mascot wouldn't be as bad if he had paws like most animal mascots, instead of normal hands.  

Oski looks like he started at University of California-Berkeley in 1955, gained the freshman 100 directly in his hips and legs and decided to start showing off his martial arts side with a weird Cal headband.

If you're going to have a bear as a mascot, just commit to making him look like an actual bear, don't make him some sort of man-bear combination.  

I hate to say it, but I don't really want to be friends with Oski the man-bear.  

Super Frog the Horned Frog: Texas Christian University

Texas Christian's horned frog mascot looks more like a bad character out of the video game series Mortal Kombat than he does a mascot.  The spikes on his legs, arms and head make him look like he is ready for a duel to the death.  

If you're going to pick a nasty-looking mascot, at least stick with giving him a face to match his body.  The horned frog's face makes him look like he is really confused, but also really happy at the same time.  Come on, TCU, be consistent!

Seeing the horned frog mascot made me think of just how much I would love to see a fight to the death between Texas Christian's horned frog and Southern Illinois' Saluki.  That would probably turn out to be a better matchup than most pay-per-view boxing brawls.  

A horned frog with a half-smiling face is just too huge a contradiction to keep off this list.

Boll Weevil: University of Arkansas at Monticello

Hey guys, I have a great idea for our mascot.  Let's pick a beetle that measures an average length of six millimeters, feeds on cotton buds and flowers, and devastated the American South during the mid 1920s.

 Yea, that sounds like a stellar idea!

Good work, University of Arkansas at Monticello, you've achieved what no one thought you could.  You've picked the weirdest, creepiest and some would say most idiotic mascot of all time.  The boll weevil looks like he would be more at home in a Dr. Seuss book than as mascot on a football field.  

Not only is a boll weevil really tiny, but it is also a pest.  That is not what I want as a mascot for my university. You'd think that if your mascot is a bug, you would at least try to make him look pretty cool.  Nope, the University of Arkansas at Monticello made him look like a pure creep, with a weird smirk underneath his massive nose. 

I do have to compliment the boll weevil for one thing: He apparently knows how to get the ladies.  

The Mighty Billiken: St. Louis University

The billiken of St. Louis University looks like he is the long-lost brother of the Teletubbies rather than a college sports teams mascot. 

The billiken apparently was a charm doll created by an art teacher in St. Louis, Missouri, after she saw the idea of the billiken in a dream.  If I created dolls based on half the things I see in my dreams, people would think I'm a complete weirdo.

If the billiken's name wasn't enough to get him on the list, the fact that he looks like he should be a character in the horror movie Puppet Master does the trick. His little smirk alone makes him look like he's up to absolutely no good.  The little tuft of hair on his head and his pointy ears just add to his overall creep appeal.  

I'm not trying to instigate something, but if the Southern Illinois' Saluki just happened to sneak into St. Louis University's athletic facilities and devour the billiken, I think everyone, and I mean everyone, would be okay with that.  

Word to the wise: Keep your dreams and the charm dolls you see in them to yourself.  

The Friar: Providence College

There are a lot of things that are weird about the Providence Friar. I don't even know where to start.  

Maybe it is the Jim Carrey in Dumb and Dumber-esque haircut that creeps me out.  Maybe it is the all-white apparel that looks like a nun outfit that the Friar dons during games that creeps me out.  Maybe it is the weird open-mouthed and absolutely shocked look that the Friar has on his face that creeps me out. 

There are just so many things that creep me out about this mascot.  I understand and respect the vows that friars take for their religion, but having a friar as a mascot is just creepy.  Providence College should take a page out of the Stanford Cardinals book and have a mascot that differs from their school name.  

If the mascot designers were going for a celebratory look with the friar's outfit, they surely missed the mark.  He looks like he just witnessed a horrific crime rather than like he supports his athletic programs.  

I don't even know what else to say. The Providence College Friar is the definition of creepy.