On Tuesday, Indiana athletics finally revealed to the world what it had been teasing for the last two weeks on its social media channels.
The Bison is back.
Indiana’s latest video was released on Tuesday and confirmed that Indiana, which has not had an official mascot in decades, will soon have a bison representing athletics on the sidelines of its sports teams.
The latest video, which is nearly three minutes long, is in the style of “Star Wars.” A crawl that paid homage to the introduction of “Star Wars” films told the story of Indiana’s connection to the bison iconography.
“For centuries BISON walked through what is now known as BLOOMINGTON along the Buffalo Trace.
As a result, BISON imagery has been found over the last 200 years on the campus of INDIANA UNIVERSITY. It is the distinguishing feature of the State Seal.
In 1965, THE BISON became the official mascot of INDIANA UNIVERSITY. In 1969, it disappeared.
On December 16, 2024, a small but committed group of students discussed bringing back THE BISON.
This is their story …”
Video was then shown depicting an Indiana University Student Government Meeting on Dec. 16.
The video then repeats footage from other videos Indiana athletics released in the last two weeks teasing the probability of a mascot reveal.
Footage is then shown of Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson’s office. As “Sirius” by Alan Parsons Project plays, a note on a desk simply says, “I’m back.”
The bison mascot itself is only partially shown in the video. The video says “Coming Fall 2025.”
Feeds for “Hoosier The Bison” have been created for Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
The issue of a mascot has been, and remains, divisive for Indiana fans. There has been on-and-off talk over the years about creating one. The last time Indiana engaged in an effort to create a mascot was the ill-fated Mr. Hoosier Pride in 1979. He was quickly scrapped.
One thing that may have led Indiana to revive the mascot is merchandising and branding. As one of the few major colleges without a mascot, Indiana did not get the benefit of a revenue stream that mascot-related merchandise sales create for schools that do have them.
Mascots have become an integral part of the branding of individual schools and for college athletics itself. Several national brands – such as Rocket Mortgage - have included mascots in television ads. Indiana could not include its brand in such endeavors without a mascot.
As for the bison mascot Indiana had in the 1960s, it was officially adopted in 1965. The original mascot was primitive, just a student in a buffalo mask and a furry suit. Shortly afterward, a large bison mascot akin to the modern interpretation of a mascot was created.
However, the bison that was created was cumbersome and poorly designed. It had no eye holes, so it had to be led around by a cheerleader. That lack of freedom of movement considerably cut down on what the mascot could do on the sideline or how it could interact with fans.
It is oft-repeated that the bison mascot was dropped in 1969, but there are photos in the Indiana University archive that show the mascot being used as late as the 1973 football season.
For many years, “Bring Back The Bison” has been a rallying cry for the segments of Indiana’s fanbase who wanted the mascot to return.
On Tuesday? Those fans got what they wanted.
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