Okay, okay, not if, but WHEN Lee Corso picks Indiana, what will he wear on Saturday?
For those who live under a rock and somehow don’t know, ESPN College Gameday will be airing live from Bloomington on Saturday ahead of IU and Washington’s Noon ET kickoff.
That means former IU football coach Lee Corso will be back in Bloomington.
And Corso’s tradition when he makes his prediction for the Gameday contest is to don the headgear of the mascot of the team he picks. In fact, Saturday will mark Corso’s 420th headgear prediction.
It isn’t always headgear. There have been full costumes, and even live animals have appeared when it’s time for Corso to make his call.
But there’s just one problem this weekend — Indiana doesn’t have a mascot.
As the coach at Indiana for a decade (1973-1982), that’s something Corso is very familiar with.
There have been many attempts throughout the history of IU Athletics to come up with a mascot. Officially IU says there have been 16 actual or proposed mascots associated with its athletics programs through the years. Below we summarize some of the more memorable ones.
Will Corso pick any of these when he predicts a Hoosiers win?
Corso might recall “Mr. Hoosier Pride,” a strange-looking fellow who seemingly had no real connection to IU or Hoosiers. He lasted one season in 1979.
The mascot that lasted the longest and probably still has the most popular support today is the bison. Bison once roamed throughout Indiana and appear on the state seal. Various versions of the bison mascot costume appeared from roughly 1965 to 1973.
This bison mascot costume was created by Disney and cost IU $1,400.
A dog named Ox, Theta Chi’s mascot, unofficially served as the IU mascot in the late 50s and early 60s.
So we suppose Corso could don bulldog headgear? Probably not.
This next one might be even more bizarre than Mr. Hoosier Pride.
The Hoosier Schoolmaster mascot of the ’50s was inspired by a book of the same name by Edward Eggleston. The book explains the origin of the nickname “Hoosier” for Indiana residents.
According to an IU publication, during basketball season, this mascot would hobble into the gymnasium and gain athleticism as the music tempo increased. The mascot would then end with tumbling passes and stunts to get the crowd excited.
There was also an owl, raccoon, golden eagle and even a kid that all served brief stints more than 100 years ago. And a goat, skunk and collie were among many proposals that never saw the light of day.
With mascots like these, you can see how Indiana ended up with none.
And with limited mascot costume options, perhaps Corso will go an alternative route.
Remember these inflatable IU football players from the ’90s? Perhaps Corso could put one of these on backstage? Okay, probably not.
There’s always the iconic IU basketball warmups. Corso was good friends with Bob Knight when they were both on campus.
The fans would certainly love this look.
Perhaps the best headgear option would be an IU helmet from the Corso era.
There were a few different versions used during his time, but the “Block I” is probably the most well known.
And of course there’s Corso’s own iconic shirt and pants from his time at Indiana.
Perhaps on a day when the fans will “red out” Memorial Stadium, this is the way to go:
For complete coverage of IU football, GO HERE.
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
- You can follow us on Twitter: @daily_hoosier
- Find us on Facebook and Instagram
- Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no cost to you.
