Oski the Bear

Oski the Bear
Oski the Bear
	Oski in front of Bowles Hall
University	University of California, Berkeley
Conference	ACC
Description	Anthropomorphic Bear
First seen	September 27, 1941

Last updated May 24, 2025

Oski the Bear (Oski) is the official mascot of the University of California, Berkeley ("Cal"), representing the California Golden Bears. Named after the Oski Yell,^[1] he made his debut at a freshman rally in the Greek Theatre on September 25, 1941.^[2]^[3] Prior to his debut, live bears were used as Cal mascots.^[4] Oski's name, design, and character were developed by William “Rocky” Rockwell, who was the first student to play the role, and Warrington Colescott, an editor of The Daily Californian and famed satirist.

Oski's identity is protected by the Committee, and wearers of the suit generally do not disclose their identity to the public. There is a volunteer advisor that can provide guidance to the committee.^[1] To that end, there may be multiple members of the Committee who wear the suit, depending on their schedules.^[5]

Incidents

Oski was suspended for two weeks in January 1990, for throwing a cake towards Oregon State fans, of which some landed on the father of Oregon State point guard Gary Payton.^[6]

In 1999, the Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC) passed a bill calling for a makeover of the "poorly constructed and pathetic version of a bear". The ASUC president vetoed the bill.^[7]

Given the rivalry with UC Berkeley and Stanford University, Oski frequently fights with Stanford's unofficial mascot, the Stanford Tree. During the 1988 Big Game, Oski and the Tree became entangled in an altercation that required security to intervene.^[8]

References

1 2 Kell, Gretchen (September 26, 2016). "Birthday Bear: Iconic Oski turns 75". UC Berkeley.
↑ Tong, Vinnee (1996-03-20). "Oski Has Made Us Laugh, Cry". The Daily Californian . p. 9. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
↑ "Students Jam Big Rally". The Daily Californian . 1941-09-26. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
↑ "Berkeley: Traditions". University of California History. 1966. Archived from the original on 2023-06-21. Retrieved 2015-12-01. After 1946, Oski was the charge of a special committee. This group of men between 5'2" and 5'4" in height and possessed of considerable gymnastic ability, determined Oski's schedule, planned his stunts, and took turns assuming his character.
1 2 "The Oski Committee: Keepers of Bears, secrets". The Daily Californian. 2022-04-23. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
↑ "Payton Linked To Grizzly Event -- Cal Mascot Gets Benched For Cake Toss | The Seattle Times". archive.seattletimes.com. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
↑ Levi Holtz, Debra (1999-11-06). "Students Call for Cal Mascot Makeover / Student measure wants..." San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
↑ Curtis, Jake. "Top 50 Cal Sports Moments -- No. 26: Oski-Tree Fights, 1988, 1995". Sports Illustrated. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 23 May 2025.

External links

Oski.com includes many photos of Oski.
Oski biography at Official Cal Athletic Site.
The original Oski discusses the mascot's origin.
Cal Songs from the Cal Marching Band website.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
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[UCB2016-1] 1 2 Kell, Gretchen (September 26, 2016). "Birthday Bear: Iconic Oski turns 75". UC Berkeley.

[2] Tong, Vinnee (1996-03-20). "Oski Has Made Us Laugh, Cry". The Daily Californian . p. 9. Retrieved 2022-05-18.

[3] "Students Jam Big Rally". The Daily Californian . 1941-09-26. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-05-18.

[4] "Berkeley: Traditions". University of California History. 1966. Archived from the original on 2023-06-21. Retrieved 2015-12-01. After 1946, Oski was the charge of a special committee. This group of men between 5'2" and 5'4" in height and possessed of considerable gymnastic ability, determined Oski's schedule, planned his stunts, and took turns assuming his character.

[:0-5] 1 2 "The Oski Committee: Keepers of Bears, secrets". The Daily Californian. 2022-04-23. Retrieved 2023-10-09.

[6] "Payton Linked To Grizzly Event -- Cal Mascot Gets Benched For Cake Toss | The Seattle Times". archive.seattletimes.com. Retrieved 2023-10-09.

[7] Levi Holtz, Debra (1999-11-06). "Students Call for Cal Mascot Makeover / Student measure wants..." San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2023-10-09.

[8] Curtis, Jake. "Top 50 Cal Sports Moments -- No. 26: Oski-Tree Fights, 1988, 1995". Sports Illustrated. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 23 May 2025.

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v t e California Golden Bears
Teams	Baseball Basketball Men's Women's Football Gymnastics (Women's) Rugby Soccer Men's Women's Softball Track and Field Volleyball (Women's)
Venues	California Memorial Stadium Haas Pavilion Evans Diamond Levine-Fricke Field Edwards Stadium
Symbols/Lore	The Big "C" Oski The Bench The Stanford Axe Big Game The Play Tightwad Hill Calgorithm
Songs	Fight for California Big C Sons of California All Hail Blue and Gold Hail to California Stanford Jonah California Indian Song California Drinking Song

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Venues	California Field (1904–1923) California Memorial Stadium (1923–2010, 2012–present) Oracle Park (2011)
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Culture & lore	Oski "Fight for California" "Big C" History Marching band Tightwad Hill The Play
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National championship seasons in bold

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Venues	Original Harmon Gym (1907–1933) Oakland Civic Auditorium (alternate, 1914–1933) Oakland Coliseum-Arena (1997–1999) Haas Pavilion (1933–1997, 1999–present)
Culture & lore	The Bench Oski "Fight for California" "Big C"
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
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Premo-Poretta national championship in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics; NCAA championship in bolded italics

v t e California Golden Bears women's basketball
Venues	Oakland Arena (1997–1999) Haas Pavilion (1973–1997, 1999–present)
Culture & lore	History Oski "Fight for California "Big C"
People	Head coaches
Seasons	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
NCAA Final Four appearance in italics

Oski the Bear

Contents

Incidents

References

External links