Jan 7, 2025; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; The West Virginia Mountaineers mascot performs during the first half against the Arizona Wildcats at WVU Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images Ben Queen-Imagn Images

ESPN Releases Mascot Rankings and WVU’s Placement Comes with a Head-Scratcher

Originally posted on West Virginia Mountaineers on SI
By Schuyler Callihan | Last updated Jul 26, 2025 9:34 AM ET

What makes college football better and more exciting than the NFL (no bias here) is the pageantry and passion of the fans. Not to steal the SEC's favorite slogan, but it does just mean more than it does to the fan bases of the NFL. There's real hatred in rivalries, and in the case of West Virginia fans, the results of each game make-or-break their week.

One piece of the puzzle is the mascot. Sure, the NFL has some good ones, but it's nothing compared to what the college game has to offer. And it just so happens that West Virginia has one of the best mascots in the land.

ESPN's Ryan McGee ranked his top five mascots by category. In the "human division," he ranked the Mountaineer second, sharing the spot with Davy Crockett (Tennessee).

"I can already see my mentions from by-god WVU and my fellow Tennessee alums for the sharing of this spot, but two rowdy mountain men in coonskin caps who wield custom-built mountaineer rifles? I'll take my chances with those dudes walking into any tense situation, especially a football Saturday.

"Back in the day, those rifles worked. Still one of the funniest things I've ever seen was at Boston College in the early days of the Big East football conference. Whenever West Virginia scored -- and that day, it was a lot -- that Mountaineer would blast his powder musket and those poor startled people of Chestnut Hill were convinced the Redcoats were back in town."

While being ranked only behind Notre Dame's leprechaun makes sense, sharing the No. 2 spot with Davy Crockett doesn't. He's not even their primary mascot. That belongs to Smokey, the bluetick coonhound. And technically speaking, Crockett is tertiary to the life-sized fake dog and the real pup that sits on the sidelines.