Pac-12 mascots giving each other a final hug goodbye will make you surprisingly emotional

Poor mascots! Poor mascots. 

With the Pac-12 coming to an end as we’re used to it, the conference’s many notable mascots all had to bid farewell to each other on Friday at the Pac-12 title game before they all scattered about in new conferences.

In what’s surely going to be one of the most bittersweet sights in the college football postseason, all of the Pac-12 mascots got together while at the Washington-Oregon game and hugged each other to say goodbye.

This was away from the stage, per college sports reporter Rodger Sherman, meaning that these mascots could’ve broken character if they wanted to.

In this moment, they did not. Forgive us for getting a little misty.

If that’s not the saddest college football thing you’ve seen all week, you might want to get your heart checked. Poor mascots! Poor mascots.

Most all of Pac-12 mascots might all be headed elsewhere next season, but they’ll alway have the conference (and mascot antics) as they knew it.

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The 10 wackiest mascots in college sports

These college mascots will make you do a double take.

College sports would not be complete without funny mascots helping to cheer teams on.

While some mascots, like Tennessee’s Smokey and Ohio State’s Brutus Buckeye, make a lot of sense because of where the schools are located.

Other mascots, well, make you scratch your head to try and think about how someone came up with them in the first place.

While there are many wonderfully weird contenders we could’ve chosen from, we’ve counted down 10 of the wackiest mascots that college sports have to offer.

From enraged vegetables to masses of colorful nonsense, you’ll never forget these 10 wacky college mascots once you meet them.

NFL might want to ban halftime games of mascots destroying children

The mascot games at halftime with children are becoming not funny quickly

It feels like every week there is another halftime when a mascot of some kind thinks it is a good idea to try and wallop a kid.

This week’s terror came when one of the mascots decided to lose it at halftime of the Los Angeles Chargers-Minnesota Vikings game.

Think this is funny? Or is enough enough and someone is eventually going to get hurt … badly.

Cincinnati’s mascot absolutely decked Oklahoma’s mascot with a Mario Kart red shell throw

Great aim by the Bearcat.

Mascots in college football are so much fun and so much chaos, from the havoc-creating Oregon Duck and TCU’s hypnotoad in 2022 to the creepier side with bowl game mascots (looking at you, Tubby). And we love them.

But Cincinnati’s Bearcat mascot took things to a whole new level Saturday during the Bearcats’ home game against No. 16 Oklahoma.

Oklahoma’s and Cincinnati’s mascots had a fun little Mario Kart moment during the game, riding tricycles around the end zone. But the Bearcat, full of chaos, made its attack move and absolutely decked the Sooners’ mascot, knocking it off a tricycle with the help of a Mario Kart red shell.

Maybe it was a staged bit — probably, right? — or maybe it was spontaneous mayhem. Either way, we love some entertaining mascot chaos.

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Getting to know the Big Ten mascots: Who are these guys?

The Duck is about to make some new friends as Oregon leaves the Pac-12 to join the Big Ten next season.

No matter what conference Oregon finds itself in, we know The Duck is the best mascot around and there can’t be much of a debate there. But as the Ducks do move to the Big Ten, The Duck is going to be going to a brand new school, so to speak, surrounded by strangers he can only hope to be his friend someday as he gets used to his new surroundings.

The Duck will need to bid farewell to Ralphie in Colorado and Butch the Cougar up in the Palouse, as well as Wilbur and Wilma Wildcat in Arizona. We still don’t know where Benny Beaver will end up, but he’ll still be around during rivalry games.

As far as Oregon goes, though, the Big Ten will bring on new faces and new places to see. These are the new mascots The Duck and Harry the Husky will have to become acquainted with next season.

LOOK: NBA mascots dunking. That’s all

Mascots in the NBA serve as the league’s court jesters, spicing up games with their acrobatics and humor. Whether it’s Slamson of the Kings or Benny the Bull of the Bulls, these furry performers bring a touch of levity to the hardwood. They provide a needed respite from the intensity of the game and keep fans engaged with their comedic skits and high-flying dunks.

For some very cool pictures of the former, just take a look below.

Ranking all current NHL mascots, from worst to best

NHL mascots are beloved and hated in equal measure, so let’s rank them!

Sports would not be what they are without mascots, and hockey especially.

Fans sitting from home might not feel the impact of mascots as much as those in the stands, but mascots do a lot of heavy lifting. From pumping the fans up to throwing out t-shirts to taunting players in the penalty box, NHL mascots truly are one of a kind.

Of course, not every NHL team has one! The New York Rangers are the only holdouts left in the NHL as the Seattle Kraken, after just one season in the NHL, now have a mascot of their own, Buoy! Shame on you, Rangers, for not joining in on the fun.

From worst to best, these are our rankings of all the current mascots in the NHL.

Even Maryland mascot Testudo got knocked over in Terrapins’ loss to Michigan

Michigan took aim at — and showed no mercy — to Maryland’s mascot.

Multiple Maryland players were injured in the Terrapins’ 34-27 loss at No. 4 Michigan on Saturday. Wide receiver Rakim Jarrett was knocked out of the contest, and quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa was sidelined too.

Not even Testudo, the beloved Terps’ mascot, could escape pain at the Big House.

Wolverines cornerback DJ Turner was pushed out of bounds in the fourth quarter and knocked over our friend with the big shell.

It’s unclear what kind of injury Testudo may have suffered. Bruised shell? Dislocated tail?

We hope Testudo — and, you know, the person inside of the mascot costume — is OK, but it’s unclear.

There is a Twitter account for it, but Testudo hasn’t been active on it in a few months. Testudo’s uh, parody alter ego, had a message though.

Michigan did not apologize, and instead, the Wolverines celebrated the unexpected tackle.

Of course, this isn’t the first time this year that a mascot from the state of Maryland has been injured. Poe, of the Baltimore Ravens, was carted off the field during a preseason game last month with what the team called “a serious injury to his drumstick.”

If there is a silver lining for Maryland fans — or at least, betting ones — it’s that the Terps covered the spread. Michigan was a 17.5-point favorite.

The game started in a disastrous way for the Terps when they fumbled the opening kickoff. Still, the Terps kept the game tight most of the way. Maryland didn’t trail by multiple possessions until the beginning of the fourth quarter. Backup Terps’ quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. closed the gap at the end, finding CJ Dippre for a touchdown with 45 seconds to play.

Testudo’s status for the Terps’ next game – at home on October 1 against Michigan State – is not known at this time.

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Being the only major league sports team …

Being the only major league sports team in town paired with a championship history has fostered a strong player-fan attachment in San Antonio. The Spurs Coyote is part of that love. He’s also respected by his peers. Coyote gathered more than 20 NBA mascots at his den, otherwise known as the AT&T Center, for a July 17-19 conference. The annual meeting gives the personalities an opportunity to collaborate on ideas and create new friendships to bounce content or stunt ideas off of.

Being the only major league sports team …

Being the only major league sports team in town paired with a championship history has fostered a strong player-fan attachment in San Antonio. The Spurs Coyote is part of that love. He’s also respected by his peers. Coyote gathered more than 20 NBA mascots at his den, otherwise known as the AT&T Center, for a July 17-19 conference. The annual meeting gives the personalities an opportunity to collaborate on ideas and create new friendships to bounce content or stunt ideas off of.