| Petey | |
|---|---|
| University | Canisius College |
| Conference | MAAC |
| Description | Anthropomorphic golden griffin |
| First seen | 1967 |
Petey is the mascot for the Canisius Golden Griffins, the athletic teams of Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, USA. Petey is an anthropomorphic golden griffin who performs live at all Canisius athletic events. Canisius adopted the nickname "Golden Griffins" for their school athletic teams in 1932, in honor of Great Lakes explorer La Salle's ship, Le Griffon . [1] Canisius first used an unnamed costumed griffin as a sideline mascot in 1967. [1] In preparation for the 2002–2003 athletic season, the griffin mascot was completely re-designed and given a new costume and name. The name "Petey" was chosen as a reference to St. Peter Canisius, who Canisius College is named for. [1]
The Canisius College Golden Griffins are composed of 16 teams representing Canisius College in intercollegiate athletics. These teams include men's and women's basketball, cross country, track, lacrosse, soccer, and swimming and diving. Men's sports include baseball, ice hockey, and golf. Women's sports include volleyball, soccer, and softball. The Golden Griffins compete in the NCAA Division I and are members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) for most sports, excluding men's ice hockey which competes in Atlantic Hockey.
Canisius College is a private Jesuit college in Buffalo, New York. It was founded in 1870 by Jesuits from Germany and is named after St. Peter Canisius. Canisius offers more than 100 undergraduate majors and minors and around 34 master's and certificate programs.
Buffalo is the second largest city in the U.S. state of New York and the largest city in Upstate New York. As of 2018, the population was 256,304. The city is the county seat of Erie County and a major gateway for commerce and travel across the Canada–United States border, forming part of the bi-national Buffalo Niagara Region.
Canisius' golden griffin has been called one of the most unusual of all NCAA mascots. [2] [3] In 2010, after the College of William & Mary adopted the Griffin as their new school mascot, Petey "wrote" a satirical open letter to the William & Mary griffin that was published in USA Today , welcoming the new griffin mascot to the college mascot community. [4] [5]
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is an organization that regulates student athletes from 1,268 North American institutions and conferences. It also organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, and helps more than 480,000 college student-athletes who compete annually in college sports. The organization is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The College of William & Mary is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III and Queen Mary II, it is the second-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, after Harvard University.
Reveley, also known as the Griffin, is the mascot of The College of William & Mary. A mythical creature with the head of an eagle and the body of a lion, it was announced as William & Mary's mascot by President Taylor Reveley April 6, 2010. The Griffin mascot beat out the other four finalists: a King and Queen, a Phoenix, a Pug, and a Wren. The College had not had an official mascot since the late 1970s. It was named Reveley in 2018 to honor the Taylor Reveley upon his retirement.
In 2013, the Catholic website Busted Halo held a March Madness-style competition to determine the title of "Best Catholic Mascot" through online voting. Petey won the online tournament, besting a field of 32 Catholic school mascots, including Notre Dame's Leprechaun and Boston College's Baldwin the Eagle. [6] [7] [8] [9] The following year, Petey advanced to the Final 4 of the same Busted Halo contest, but was ultimately defeated by Iggy the Royal Wolf from the University of Scranton. [10] [11] In 2015 Petey was entered in to the College Court Report "Mascot Mayhem" contest, where he made it to the Final 4 - surpassing Butler, North Florida, St. Louis, and UNLV. [12] Sam the Minuteman from the University of Massachusetts Amherst claimed the 1st place prize. [13] In 2016 Petey faced off against Boomer from Missouri State in the semi-finals of Court Report's "Mascot Mayhem" contest. [14] Over 7,000 votes were cast in the final contest pairing, and Petey was narrowly defeated by a margin of 56.8% to 43.2%, claiming the 2nd place title. [14]
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States, outside the city of South Bend. The main campus covers 1,261 acres (510 ha) in a suburban setting; it contains a number of recognizable landmarks, such as the Golden Dome, the Word of Life mural, Notre Dame Stadium, and the Basilica. The school was founded in 1842, by its first president, The Rev. Edward Sorin.
The Notre Dame leprechaun is the mascot of the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish athletics department. It appears at athletic events, most notably at football games. It was designed by sports artist Theodore W. Drake in 1964 for US$50.
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. The university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. The university also has historical ties to Boston College High School in Dorchester, as both the high school and the college were once on one campus in the South End of Boston. It is a member of the 568 Group and the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. Its main campus is a historic district and features some of the earliest examples of collegiate gothic architecture in North America.
