Nov 23, 2024; New York, New York, USA; The Notre Dame Fighting Irish mascot performs for fans during the second half against the Army Black Knights at Yankee Stadium. Danny Wild-Imagn Images

ESPN Reporter Names Notre Dame Leprechaun the Top Mascot in College Football

Originally posted on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI
By Nick Shepkowski | Last updated Jul 25, 2025 5:09 PM ET

Mascots are beloved in college sports and for every team that has one, the school's fans think its the best.

That's no different at Notre Dame where the leprechaun has long been rallying fans from the sideline during games. When it comes to human mascots, it's hard to find one that's more engaged than the leprechaun.

As a result, ESPN's Ryan McGee recently ranked it as the top human mascot in college sports. It beat out West Virginia's Mountaineer, Tennessee's Davy Crockett, Texas Tech's Masked Rider, Osceola at Florida State, and Vili the Warrior at Hawai'i.

Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

McGee mentioned the gauntlet that potential Notre Dame leprechauns must go through during spring tryouts:

"As long as they can survive the spring tryout gauntlet of Notre Dame trivia, 50 pushups and their best Irish jig, they have a chance to share a field with Marcus Freeman and Rudy."

The USC Trojan mascot was nowhere to be found on this list, nor was its horse, Traveler.

Speaking of, I wonder if the USC mascots are as afraid of the Notre Dame rivalry as their head football coach is.

This article first appeared on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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