William And Mary's New Mascot: The Griffin
React
Follow
share this story
The College of William and Mary has officially joined the ranks of schools with weird mascots.
According to a recent statement on the school's website:
William & Mary's Griffin is a mythical creature with the body of a lion and the head of an eagle. The coat of arms of King William and Queen Mary was adorned with lions, and the lion's body of our mascot evokes our historic royal founding and early history. The eagle's head of the Griffin suggests the national symbol of the United States and represents the presidents, leaders, and productive citizens whom William & Mary has trained for centuries.
Until 2005, the school's unofficial mascot was Colonel Ebirt, a green and gold frog. Before that, teams were known as "the Indians." The search for a new official mascot began last year.
The Washington Post has more:
The mascot search netted 800 submissions, winnowed to five finalists in December: a griffin, a king and queen, a phoenix, a pug and a wren. The charge was to select a mascot that would unify the campus -- preferably not in opposition. And look good on T-shirts.
Most are bemused by the choice, and another college griffin, this one from Canisius College, even wrote the newcomer a letter laying down griffin law:
Look, I am fully aware you are the second-oldest college in the country, after Harvard, but you are a newcomer, if you don't mind my saying so, in this griffin mascot biz, this being your first full day and all. And there is one thing you should know.Please, don't take shots at other griffins. We share 5,000 years of myth.
Time will tell how they all get along.
Loading comments… 
Huffington Post First Posted: 06/07/10 06:12 AM ET Updated: 05/25/11 05:05 PM ET