Big Jay (mascot)

Big Jay
Big Jay
University	University of Kansas
Conference	Big 12
Description	Larger Jayhawk costume
First seen	1960s
Related mascot(s)	Baby Jay

Last updated November 22, 2024

Big Jay is one of the costume mascots of the Kansas Jayhawks.^[1] Together, Big Jay and Baby Jay are Jayhawks and are the mascots used by the University of Kansas.^[1] Another mascot named Centennial Jay was temporarily used in 2012.^[2]^[3]

History

The original mascot for the Kansas Jayhawks was a bulldog. In 1912, the Jayhawk was first seen in a cartoon by Henry Maloy in The University Daily Kansan. ^[4]

In November 1958, the Jayhawk became the official mascot for Kansas University. ^[5] The "Jayhawk" idea came from the combination of a blue jay and a sparrow hawk. ^[4]

Related Research Articles

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The Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball program of the University of Kansas. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I and the team competes in the Big 12 Conference. Kansas is considered one of the most prestigious college basketball programs in the country with six overall national championships, as well being runner-up six times and having the most conference titles in the nation. The Jayhawks also own the NCAA record for most consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances with 28 consecutive appearances. Since the 1984 tournament, the Jayhawks have only missed the tournament twice due to disciplinary action from the NCAA; they were ruled ineligible for the 1989 tournament and 2018 being vacated. They have not missed the tournament strictly due to on the court performance since the 1983 tournament. They were also, along with Dartmouth, the first team to appear in multiple NCAA Tournaments after making their second appearance in the 1942 tournament. The Jayhawks had been ranked in the AP poll for 231 consecutive polls, a streak that had stretched from the poll released on February 2, 2009, poll through the poll released on February 8, 2021, which is the longest streak in AP poll history. Of the 28 seasons the Big 12 conference has been in existence, Kansas has won at least a share of 21 regular-season conference titles.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian Braun</span> American basketball player (born 2001)

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Kenny Logan Jr. is an American football safety who is a free agent. He was signed as an undrafted free agent following the 2024 NFL draft. He played college football for the Kansas Jayhawks where he majored in sports management while starting as a safety for the football team.

References

1 2 "The Mascots". KU.edu. University of Kansas. Archived from the original on April 4, 2018. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
↑ "Retro Centennial Jay Helps Celebrate 100 Mascot Years". Lawrence Journal-World . Ogden Newspapers . Retrieved March 22, 2014.
↑ "Top 25 Great College Football Mascots: More than Just Oversized Heads" . Retrieved March 22, 2014.
1 2 Peterson | @CarlosWritesKU, Carlos (March 7, 2019). "The history of Big Jay and the birth of Baby Jay". The University Daily Kansan. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
↑ "Mascots · 100 Years of the Jayhawk · KU Libraries Exhibits". exhibits.lib.ku.edu. Retrieved October 4, 2023.

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[The_Mascots-1] 1 2 "The Mascots". KU.edu. University of Kansas. Archived from the original on April 4, 2018. Retrieved January 13, 2022.

[2] "Retro Centennial Jay Helps Celebrate 100 Mascot Years". Lawrence Journal-World . Ogden Newspapers . Retrieved March 22, 2014.

[3] "Top 25 Great College Football Mascots: More than Just Oversized Heads" . Retrieved March 22, 2014.

[:0-4] 1 2 Peterson | @CarlosWritesKU, Carlos (March 7, 2019). "The history of Big Jay and the birth of Baby Jay". The University Daily Kansan. Retrieved October 5, 2023.

[5] "Mascots · 100 Years of the Jayhawk · KU Libraries Exhibits". exhibits.lib.ku.edu. Retrieved October 4, 2023.

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v t e Kansas Jayhawks football
Venues	McCook Field (1892–1920) David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium (1921–2023, 2025–future) Arrowhead Stadium (2024) Children's Mercy Park (2024)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Kansas State: Sunflower Showdown Missouri: Border War Nebraska
Culture & lore	Big Jay Baby Jay "I'm a Jayhawk" Marching Jayhawks Aggieville riots Timeline of football in Kansas First game in Kansas 1911 Missouri game
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

v t e Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball
Venues	Robinson Gymnasium (1907–1927) Hoch Auditorium (1927–1955) Allen Fieldhouse (1955–present)
Rivalries	Kansas State Missouri
Culture & lore	Big Jay Baby Jay Blue blood status Champions Classic "Rock Chalk, Jayhawk" Jayhawkers
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Helms and NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

v t e Kansas Jayhawks women's basketball
Venues	Allen Fieldhouse (1968–present)
Rivalries	Kansas State Missouri (dormant)
Culture & lore	Big Jay Baby Jay "Rock Chalk, Jayhawk"
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25

Big Jay (mascot)

Contents

History

See also

Related Research Articles

References