 | The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's general notability guideline .(July 2014) |
| Spike the Bulldog | |
|---|---|
| University | Gonzaga University |
| Conference | WCC |
| Description | Anthropomorphic bulldog |
Spike the Bulldog is the mascot for the Gonzaga University Bulldogs, also known officially as the Zags. [1]
In Gonzaga's early football history, the teams were called the "Blue and Whites" or "The Fighting Irish". After a football game in 1921, a reporter wrote that Gonzaga fought tenaciously like bulldogs. Thus, that description became the new mascot. Over the years, Gonzaga has had numerous live bulldogs as mascots. [2]
Human mascots replaced live dogs in 1980 when a Gonzaga student, Mike Griffin, wore a cape and called himself "Captain Zag." He remained the Gonzaga mascot from 1980 until 1982. A few more students donned the Captain Zag uniform before a bulldog mascot returned in 1985. Spike was named by Craig Evans a 6 year old of the assistant basketball coach Bill Evans. Lee Mauney, a student from Hatchie Bottom, Mississippi, introduced the Gonzaga crowd to the first costumed bulldog mascot in 1985. He held the role from 1985-88. [3]
Spike has become synonymous with Gonzaga Athletics. In 2000, Spike rose to national prominence when he was among a group of mascots that appeared in Nike's "Welcome to Bracketville" promotional commercials for the NCAA Tournament. [4]
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The 2012–13 Gonzaga Bulldogs women's basketball team is representing Gonzaga University in the 2012–13 college basketball season. The Bulldogs, members of the West Coast Conference, are led by head coach Kelly Graves, in his 13th season at the school. The Zags are playing most of their home games at the McCarthey Athletic Center on the university campus in Spokane, Washington.
The 2013–14 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Gonzaga University in the 2013–14 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games at the McCarthey Athletic Center, which has a capacity of 6,000. The Bulldogs were in their 34th season as a member of the West Coast Conference, and were led by head coach Mark Few, who is in his 15th season as head coach. They finished the season 29–7, 15–3 in WCC play to be WCC regular season champions. They were also champions of the WCC tournament to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. In the NCAA Tournament, they defeated Oklahoma State in the second round before losing in the third round to Arizona.
The 2014–15 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Gonzaga University in the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Mark Few, who was in his 16th season as head coach. The team played its home games at McCarthey Athletic Center, which has a capacity of 6,000. The Bulldogs were playing in their 35th season as a member of the West Coast Conference. The Zags were predicted to finish atop of the conference by the West Coast Conference Preseason Poll. The Zags finished in first place in the West Coast Conference Standings for the 18th time with a 17-1 conference record after BYU defeated the Zags in the regular season finale, snapping the nation's longest active home winning streak of 41 games, as well as Gonzaga's school record 22-game winning streak. The Bulldogs then went on to beat BYU in the West Coast Conference tournament, and claimed their 14th WCC tournament title, along with punching their 18th ticket to the NCAA Tournament. Gonzaga entered the 2015 NCAA tournament as a #2 seed in the South region, and dismantled #15 seed North Dakota State, #7 seed Iowa, and #11 seed UCLA, to gain its second trip to the Elite Eight, as well as Mark Few's first as head coach. The Zags then fell to #1 seed Duke, and finished the season with a 35–3 record, which were the most wins in school history.
Lisa Mispley Fortier is an American basketball coach, currently the head coach of the women's basketball team at Gonzaga University.
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The 2015–16 Gonzaga Bulldogs women's basketball team represents Gonzaga University in the 2015–16 college basketball season. The Bulldogs, members of the West Coast Conference. The Bulldogs were led by second year head coach Lisa Fortier. The Zags play their home games at the McCarthey Athletic Center on the university campus in Spokane, Washington. They finished the season 19–14, 10–8 in WCC play to finish in fifth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the WCC women's basketball tournament to Santa Clara. They were invited to the Women's National Invitation Tournament where they defeated UC Riverside in the first round before losing to Utah in the second round.
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