We The People: This Day in History, December 16
Baylor University Adopts the Bear as its Official Mascot
WACO, Texas (KWTX) - On December 16, 1914, Baylor University officially picked the Bear as its mascot.
For the first seventy years of its existence, Baylor didn’t have a mascot, with teams simply known as the “Green-and-Golders.”
That changed when a former student challenged the university to adopt a mascot.
A contest was launched, and dozens of ideas were submitted.
When the votes were tallied, the Bear emerged victorious with a two-to-one win over the Buffalo.
The legacy of the Baylor Bear truly came to life with the arrival of the first live bear mascot, Ted, in 1917.
Today, the Bill and Eva Williams Bear Habitat Complex is the only university mascot facility to achieve accreditation by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
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