Nellie Elder Statesman Among College Mascots
The University of Georgia's bulldog mascot is one of the
best-known in college athletics. Uga has appeared on the cover of
Sports Illustrated and in Clint Eastwood's movie, Midnight in the
Garden of Good and Evil.
LSU's tiger is one of the most feared. With each growl from his
cage near the visitors' locker room, Mike dictates how many
touchdowns the Tigers will score. The University of Texas' steer is
one of the most respected. Bevo was requested for President Bush's
inauguration ceremony. But whoa, Nellie.
JU's official mascot, Nellie the Dolphin, is the oldest of the
36 live animal mascots at the 241 schools in the NCAA's Division I
and I-AA ranks, having turned 50 in February of 2003.
"She's been a world record for many years," said Bill Upson, who
oversees animal training at Marineland, just south of St.
Augustine, where Nellie has lived since being born in the park on
Feb. 27, 1953.
While Nellie is the only Dolphin to have represented JU, there
have been six Ugas, five Mikes and 13 Bevos. Navy has the oldest
mascot tradition, with 31 Billy the Goats. Two more are in waiting.
Colorado State has carried on the lineage of 18 rams named Cam. And
Washington has had the same family provide huskies since 1958.
Nellie has never appeared at a JU competition or event. However,
she performed five-minute sports routines throughout the day in
front of Marineland crowds for decades before she was retired in
the mid-1980's.
Nellie lives with 10 other Dolphins in Marineland tanks, which
have running water from the nearby Atlantic Ocean.
