Bucky Badger
Encyclopedia
Bucky Badger is the official mascot
of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His full name is Buckingham U. Badger and he attends all major sporting events for the Wisconsin Badgers
as well as hundreds of other events around Wisconsin every year.
, wearing a "W" sweater and strutting forward with a fierce expression, was drawn by California-based commercial artist Art Evans in 1940, and first sold from Brown's Book Store in Madison. An actual badger from Eau Claire was used at the first few football games that year, but proved to be too fierce to be controlled properly and was retired to the nearby Henry Vilas Zoo
. After that, the school replaced the live badger with a live raccoon
named Regdab ('badger' backwards). In 1949, a UW-Madison art student, Connie Conrad was asked to create a paper-mache Bucky head-piece. A UW-Madison Gymnast and cheerleader, Bill Sagal, wore the outfit at the homecoming game and a contest was started to properly name the mascot. The winning entry was Buckingham U. Badger. Bucky has been maintained over the years, even surviving a threat by the assistant attorney general, Howard Koop, who suggested that Bucky be replaced by Henrietta Holstein, a loveable cow.
In 2006, Bucky was inducted as a charter member of the Mascot Hall of Fame
's College Division, joining YoUDee
from Delaware
, Goldy from the University of Minnesota, and Aubie
from Auburn
.
Bucky wears a cardinal
red and white Wisconsin sweater
along with a gruff look on his face (the costumed-mascot version is decidedly cheerier, with a beaming smile).
During sporting events, he is generally seen interacting with the crowd
, especially the rambunctious student section. For example, during football
games Bucky often directs Section O
to dance along with the band's
music or pretends to pick fights with certain students. He also has a history of playfully fighting other team's mascots like the University of Minnesota's Goldy Gopher
or Purdue University
's Purdue Pete
. Although fighting is no longer allowed by NCAA mascots, Bucky still frequently interacts with other mascots through skits. Bucky also does pushups to match the score after each touchdown. At the Indiana game on November 13, 2010 Bucky did 83 consecutive pushups for the winning score of 83-20.
Bill Sagal was the first costumed Bucky Badger. The original Bucky costume was introduced at a pep rally on Friday, November 11, 1949, before the next day's Homecoming game against Iowa (Wisconsin 35, Iowa 13). Carolyn (Connie) Conrad, a UW art student, designed the original chicken wire and paper mache head. Sagal, then head cheerleader, wore his regular cheerleader trousers and sweater and added boxing gloves.
The modern Bucky Badger logo was part of a group of "comic collegiate badger mascots" created by the Anson W. Thompson Company of Los Angeles in 1940. The company was one of several that manufactured decals and other logowear for universities. The Madison-based Brown's Book Store (no longer in business) was the first to order the pose. Other bookstores in the area ordered other poses. The UW athletic department first used the logo on the cover of the 1948 Football Facts and Centennial Sports Review.
That image of Bucky was adopted and used by many local businesses in and around Madison
. In 1988 the University of Wisconsin–Madison formed a trademark licensing program to register the Bucky logo, which was opposed by local merchants. Ownership was decided in the case University Book Store v. University of Wisconsin–Madison Board of Regents. The United States Patent and Trademark Office allowed the UW to register the marks despite previous third-party use on the grounds that the public identified the Bucky Badger logo with the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
In 2003, Bucky was given an update, with simplified lines and the "motion W" on his sweater. This might have been done in part to give the University a version of Bucky that was associated with the University alone, and had never been used in any other context. The mascot costume was also updated to feature the motion W.
as a variation of the allegorical figure of blindfolded Lady Justice
.
Two variations of "Band Bucky" are used to represent the University of Wisconsin Marching Band
. One variation shows him wearing a uniform similar to the drum major's, and the other shows him wearing a normal Wisconsin Band uniform. Various instrument sections within the band have also commissioned logos that include Bucky holding an instrument.
Bucky with a stethoscope is occasionally used by the Medical Alumni Association.
Similarly, a design of Bucky wearing a Roman-style toga
is used by the university's Classics
Society (and shared with the Classics Department).
The College of Agriculture & Life Science's Short Course has a Farmer Bucky, clad in Motion W overalls and carrying a pitchfork. In addition, the Collegiate FFA has Bucky in Official Dress, including the standard FFA Jacket.
The Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences department utilizes a design with Bucky holding a lightning bolt.
Bucky has also been known to don a laboratory coat and carry an Erlenmeyer flask
in support of University of Wisconsin-Madison laboratory sciences.
Bucky also adorned the engine nacelles of the Wisconsin ANG in Madison during their tenure with the A-10 "Warthog". He was shown on both engines in all black tone, as the aircraft was in the "European one" paint at the time. This was short-lived as the unit converted to the F-16 in a short time.
Bucky appearances can be purchased; rates in 2007 were $250 plus $100 per hour, a "typical price" for school mascots.
and featured in theaters across the state in the following weeks.
Additionally, Bucky Badger is featured prominently in a parody of the song Teach Me How to Dougie
, appropriately titled "Teach me how to Bucky.", The music video, presented by Zooniversity Music, debuted during the 2010 UW Homecoming Game at Camp Randall vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers, a 41-23 Badgers win on October 9th. T-shirts displayed in the video became commercially distributed the following week at local stores such as Name of the Game Apparel and Insignia. However despite overwhelming popularity of the video, the use of a student athlete portrayal in the music video at the :31 second and 1:11 mark violated NCAA compliance issues as student athlete's likeness are prohibited from generating the sales. Specifically, NCAA regulations stipulate that “items that include an individual student-athlete’s name, picture or likeness, other than information items, may not be sold.”
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His full name is Buckingham U. Badger and he attends all major sporting events for the Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin Badgers
The Wisconsin Badgers are the collegiate athletic teams from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. This NCAA Division I athletic program has teams in football, basketball, ice hockey, volleyball, soccer, cross country, tennis, swimming, wrestling, track and field, rowing, golf, and softball...
as well as hundreds of other events around Wisconsin every year.
Origin
The as-yet unnamed Wisconsin mascot appeared as a human-like cartoon figure in University of Wisconsin publications in the 1930s. The most familiar portrayal of Bucky BadgerBadger
Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the weasel family, Mustelidae. There are nine species of badger, in three subfamilies : Melinae , Mellivorinae , and Taxideinae...
, wearing a "W" sweater and strutting forward with a fierce expression, was drawn by California-based commercial artist Art Evans in 1940, and first sold from Brown's Book Store in Madison. An actual badger from Eau Claire was used at the first few football games that year, but proved to be too fierce to be controlled properly and was retired to the nearby Henry Vilas Zoo
Henry Vilas Zoo
Henry Vilas Zoo is a public zoo in Madison, Wisconsin, United States.The Henry Vilas Zoo receives over 500,000 visitors annually. It charges no admission or parking fees, and is one of a few free zoos in the world accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums...
. After that, the school replaced the live badger with a live raccoon
Raccoon
Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most familiar species, the common raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...
named Regdab ('badger' backwards). In 1949, a UW-Madison art student, Connie Conrad was asked to create a paper-mache Bucky head-piece. A UW-Madison Gymnast and cheerleader, Bill Sagal, wore the outfit at the homecoming game and a contest was started to properly name the mascot. The winning entry was Buckingham U. Badger. Bucky has been maintained over the years, even surviving a threat by the assistant attorney general, Howard Koop, who suggested that Bucky be replaced by Henrietta Holstein, a loveable cow.
In 2006, Bucky was inducted as a charter member of the Mascot Hall of Fame
Mascot Hall of Fame
The Mascot Hall of Fame is a hall of fame for United States sports mascots. It was founded by David Raymond, who was the original Phillie Phanatic from 1978 to 1993. It is an online-only hall, with an induction ceremony taking place each year in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
's College Division, joining YoUDee
YoUDee
YoUDee is the mascot of the University of Delaware. He is a "fighting Blue Hen" and is named after the state bird of Delaware. According to the University of Delaware, YoUDee's colors are Gold and Blue because his great-great-great-grandfather was awarded the Gold Medal for Valor during the...
from Delaware
University of Delaware
The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...
, Goldy from the University of Minnesota, and Aubie
Aubie
Aubie is Auburn University's award-winning costumed tiger mascot. Aubie has won a record six mascot national championships, more than any other mascot in the United States. Aubie was among the first three college mascots inducted to the Mascot Hall of Fame, inducted on August 15, 2006...
from Auburn
Auburn University
Auburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 7, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts...
.
Attire and attitude
Cardinal (color)
Cardinal is a vivid red, which gets its name from the cassocks worn by Catholic cardinals...
red and white Wisconsin sweater
Sweater
A sweater, jumper, pullover, sweatshirt, jersey or guernsey is a garment intended to cover the torso and arms. It is often worn over a shirt, blouse, T-shirt, or other top, but may also be worn alone as a top...
along with a gruff look on his face (the costumed-mascot version is decidedly cheerier, with a beaming smile).
During sporting events, he is generally seen interacting with the crowd
Crowd
A crowd is a large and definable group of people, while "the crowd" is referred to as the so-called lower orders of people in general...
, especially the rambunctious student section. For example, during football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
games Bucky often directs Section O
Camp Randall Stadium
Camp Randall Stadium is an outdoor stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. It has been the home of the Wisconsin Badgers football team in rudimentary form since 1895, and as a complete stadium since 1917. It is located on the center-southern region of the University of Wisconsin campus. The stadium seats...
to dance along with the band's
Marching band
Marching band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments...
music or pretends to pick fights with certain students. He also has a history of playfully fighting other team's mascots like the University of Minnesota's Goldy Gopher
Goldy Gopher
Goldy Gopher is the mascot for the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus and the associated sports teams, known as the Golden Gophers, as well as the defending UCA Mascot National Champion...
or Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
's Purdue Pete
Purdue Pete
Purdue Pete is a mascot of Purdue University. Despite his visible and constant on-field presence at Purdue sporting events, Pete is not the official mascot of the university. The official mascot of Purdue is the Boilermaker Special.-History:...
. Although fighting is no longer allowed by NCAA mascots, Bucky still frequently interacts with other mascots through skits. Bucky also does pushups to match the score after each touchdown. At the Indiana game on November 13, 2010 Bucky did 83 consecutive pushups for the winning score of 83-20.
Bill Sagal was the first costumed Bucky Badger. The original Bucky costume was introduced at a pep rally on Friday, November 11, 1949, before the next day's Homecoming game against Iowa (Wisconsin 35, Iowa 13). Carolyn (Connie) Conrad, a UW art student, designed the original chicken wire and paper mache head. Sagal, then head cheerleader, wore his regular cheerleader trousers and sweater and added boxing gloves.
Logo
That image of Bucky was adopted and used by many local businesses in and around Madison
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
. In 1988 the University of Wisconsin–Madison formed a trademark licensing program to register the Bucky logo, which was opposed by local merchants. Ownership was decided in the case University Book Store v. University of Wisconsin–Madison Board of Regents. The United States Patent and Trademark Office allowed the UW to register the marks despite previous third-party use on the grounds that the public identified the Bucky Badger logo with the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
In 2003, Bucky was given an update, with simplified lines and the "motion W" on his sweater. This might have been done in part to give the University a version of Bucky that was associated with the University alone, and had never been used in any other context. The mascot costume was also updated to feature the motion W.
Variations
Blind Bucky is sometimes used to represent the University of Wisconsin Law SchoolUniversity of Wisconsin Law School
The University of Wisconsin Law School is the professional school for the study of law at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in Madison, Wisconsin. The law school was founded in 1868.-Facilities:...
as a variation of the allegorical figure of blindfolded Lady Justice
Lady Justice
Lady Justice |Dike]]) is an allegorical personification of the moral force in judicial systems.-Depiction:The personification of justice balancing the scales of truth and fairness dates back to the Goddess Maat, and later Isis, of ancient Egypt. The Hellenic deities Themis and Dike were later...
.
Two variations of "Band Bucky" are used to represent the University of Wisconsin Marching Band
University of Wisconsin Marching Band
The University of Wisconsin Marching Band is the marching band for the University of Wisconsin–Madison. It was formed with 11 members in the fall of 1885 to support the military battalion. Today, it has grown to over 300 members and performs at all Badger home football games.-History:The...
. One variation shows him wearing a uniform similar to the drum major's, and the other shows him wearing a normal Wisconsin Band uniform. Various instrument sections within the band have also commissioned logos that include Bucky holding an instrument.
Bucky with a stethoscope is occasionally used by the Medical Alumni Association.
Similarly, a design of Bucky wearing a Roman-style toga
Toga
The toga, a distinctive garment of Ancient Rome, was a cloth of perhaps 20 ft in length which was wrapped around the body and was generally worn over a tunic. The toga was made of wool, and the tunic under it often was made of linen. After the 2nd century BC, the toga was a garment worn...
is used by the university's Classics
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
Society (and shared with the Classics Department).
The College of Agriculture & Life Science's Short Course has a Farmer Bucky, clad in Motion W overalls and carrying a pitchfork. In addition, the Collegiate FFA has Bucky in Official Dress, including the standard FFA Jacket.
The Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences department utilizes a design with Bucky holding a lightning bolt.
Bucky has also been known to don a laboratory coat and carry an Erlenmeyer flask
Erlenmeyer flask
An Erlenmeyer flask, also known as a conical flask, is a widely used type of laboratory flask which features a flat bottom, a conical body, and a cylindrical neck. It is named after the German chemist Emil Erlenmeyer, who created it in 1861...
in support of University of Wisconsin-Madison laboratory sciences.
Bucky also adorned the engine nacelles of the Wisconsin ANG in Madison during their tenure with the A-10 "Warthog". He was shown on both engines in all black tone, as the aircraft was in the "European one" paint at the time. This was short-lived as the unit converted to the F-16 in a short time.
Student portrayal
The students (usually 7) who portray Bucky Badger are all volunteers, without scholarships or financial reimbursement, as is the system in some universities. Tryouts include tests of dancing skills, expressiveness in suit, ability to work with props, and the number of push-ups a candidate can do, as well as an interview and the ability to write and perform an original skit. The Bucky Team attends mascot training camp every year in August. They perform throughout the year, including breaks and holidays, representing the university and the state at athletic events, but also at ceremonies, parades, festivals, weddings, and even an occasional funeral.Bucky appearances can be purchased; rates in 2007 were $250 plus $100 per hour, a "typical price" for school mascots.
Film portrayal
In 2009, Bucky Badger made it to the silver screen in the documentary, Being Bucky. The film, which was created by Chicago ad-men John Fromstein and Scott Smith, both Wisconsin natives, follows the 2007–2008 Buckys: Chris, Blake, Dave, Sky, Ryan, Craig and Jeff. It was released on April 4th at the Wisconsin Film FestivalWisconsin Film Festival
The Wisconsin Film Festival is an annual film festival, founded in 1999. The five-day long festival is held every April in Madison, Wisconsin.The Festival presents a broad range of independent American and world cinema , restorations and revivals, and locally made pictures from Wisconsin filmmakers...
and featured in theaters across the state in the following weeks.
Additionally, Bucky Badger is featured prominently in a parody of the song Teach Me How to Dougie
Teach Me How to Dougie
"Teach Me How to Dougie" is a song recorded by American hip hop group Cali Swag District. The track was produced by Runway Star for Cali Swag District's debut studio album, The Kickback . The song was written by Chanti Glee, Charon Childs, and Corey Fowler...
, appropriately titled "Teach me how to Bucky.", The music video, presented by Zooniversity Music, debuted during the 2010 UW Homecoming Game at Camp Randall vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers, a 41-23 Badgers win on October 9th. T-shirts displayed in the video became commercially distributed the following week at local stores such as Name of the Game Apparel and Insignia. However despite overwhelming popularity of the video, the use of a student athlete portrayal in the music video at the :31 second and 1:11 mark violated NCAA compliance issues as student athlete's likeness are prohibited from generating the sales. Specifically, NCAA regulations stipulate that “items that include an individual student-athlete’s name, picture or likeness, other than information items, may not be sold.”
External links
- Bucky Badger History
- UW Badgers Website
- Photos of classic Bucky costumes from The University of Wisconsin–Madison Collection online database
- Wisconsin Badger Photos
- The UW–Madison Office of Trademark Licensing controls the Bucky Badger logo's trademark.
- Site of the "Being Bucky" documentary, a documentary about what it's like to be the mascot
- http://badgerherald.com/artsetc/2009/04/22/it_aint_easy_being_b.php