Ranking all 68 of the 2025 men's March Madness teams by mascot
Ranking all 68 of the 2025 men's March Madness teams by mascot
That's right, friends: With the bracket being revealed, March Madness is officially HERE.
And we know the next few days until the first round of the 2025 NCAA men's tournament will be spent with you filling out your bracket, erasing it, filling it out again, tweaking it, tweaking it again and then making last-second changes before the first game after the First Four tips off on Thursday.
If you're into doing deep research with stats, rankings, and history? Well, I'm sorry. This isn't the list for you.
This is the ninth (!) annual version of the list to help you pick your bracket based on team nicknames or mascots.
My completely non-scientific system is based on a combination of moniker creativity, how threatening the mascot is and, sometimes, the look of the costumed thing.
Let's jump right in:
68. San Diego State Aztecs
We've talked about this for years: no mascot, bad ranking. We're still waiting for San Diego State to replace the offensive Aztec Warrior.
67. Illinois Fighting Illini
They also got rid of their offensive mascot and the Kingfisher isn't official yet.
66. Michigan Wolverines
No mascot! Get a scary wolverine! It's so easy!
65. Kentucky Wildcats
My gripe every year: too many Wildcat names.
64. Arizona Wildcats
Too many Tigers.
62. Clemson Tigers
61. Memphis Tigers
60. Missouri Tigers
59. High Point Panthers
More big cats? Yawn.
58. BYU Cougars
57. Houston Cougars
56. SIU Edwardsville Cougars
55. Baylor Bears
Bears are scarier IMO.
54. UCLA Bruins
53. Montana Grizzlies
I know there are too many Bulldogs, but DOGS ARE THE BEST!
51. Mississippi State Bulldogs
50. Yale Bulldogs
49. Gonzaga Bulldogs
48. Drake Bulldogs
47. Bryan Bulldogs
46. UConn Huskies
45. Wofford Terriers
44. American Eagles
Birds of prey are no joke.
43. Marquette Golden Eagles
Bonus points for gold.
42. NC Wilmington Seahawks
Fun fact: Seahawks aren't an actual bird. We've reached the "cool names, but there are issues" tier.
41. St. John's Red Storm
I want, like, a storm mascot. Instead, Johnny Thunderbird is a bird.
I want, like, a cyclone mascot. Instead, Cy the Cardinal is a bird.
39. Liberty Flames
I want, like, a flame mascot. Instead, Sparky the Eagle is a bird.
38. Creighton Bluejays
This always bothers me. It's a typo. They'd be higher if it was spelled "Blue Jays."
37. Colorado State Rams
36. VCU Rams
35. Norfolk State Spartans
Defeated by the other Spartans (see below).
34. Louisville Cardinals
We've reached the bluebloods tier. Classic mascots where you can't go wrong.
33. Maryland Terripans
32. Tennessee Volunteers
31. Florida Gators
30. Duke Blue Devils
29. North Carolina Tarheels
28. Texas Longhorns
27. Wisconsin Badgers
Shoutout to my mom, a proud Wisconsin alum.
26. Oregon Ducks
Shoutout to FTW's Bryan Kalbrosky, a proud Oregon alum.
25. Kansas Jayhawks
Shoutout to FTW's Andrew Joseph and Blake Schuster, proud Kansas alums.
24. Michigan State Spartans
Shoutout to FTW's Michelle Martinelli, a proud Michigan State alum.
23. Vanderbilt Commodores
Shoutout to FTW's Christian D'Andrea, a proud Vanderbilt alum.
Shoutout to me, the biggest Steely Dan fan.
21. Oklahoma Sooners
I just love that their mascot is a big wagon. Quirky!
20. Arkansas Razorbacks
19. Purdue Boilermakers
The tier of "these mascots freak me out so I have to rank them higher."
18. Robert Morris Colonials
17. Lipscomb Bisons
16. Ole Miss Rebels
15. Omaha Mavericks
14. Alabama State Hornets
Hornets are scary as heck.
13. McNeese Cowboys
Rowdy the Cowboy was named after Clint Eastwood's Rawhide character. Extra points.
12. Texas A&M Aggies
Reveille is a live mascot, which is the best, and then there are the rules about her:
Company E-2 has the privilege of taking care of Reveille. If she is sleeping on a cadet's bed, that cadet must sleep on the floor. Cadets address Reveille as "Miss Rev, ma'am." If she is in class and barks while the professor is teaching, the class is to be immediately dismissed.
11. Saint Mary's Gaels
I just love this guy.
10. Texas Tech Red Raiders
And this guy.
9. Troy Trojans
And this guy, whose name is T-Roy. LOL.
8. Xavier Musketeers
How can you not love D'Artagnan's mustache?
7. Utah State Aggies
Big Blue rules.
6. New Mexico Lobos
So goofy, I had to put this one here.
5. Akron Zips
A kangaroo!
4. Grand Canyon Lopes
An antelope!
3. Mount Saint Mary's Mountaineers
His name is Emmitt S. Burg (because the university is in Emmitsburg). And he's glorious.
2. St. Francis Red Flash
SO CLOSE TO WINNING. LOOK AT THAT FACE!
1. UCSD Tritons
How can I not give it to the god? Too perfect. I bow down to King Triton.
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