The LSU mascot is a tiger named Mike, also known as Mike the Tiger. Mike has been the official live tiger mascot for Louisiana State University (LSU) since 1936. The university has had a live tiger on campus as a symbol of its athletic teams since 1896. The current mascot, Mike VII, made his debut at LSU in August 2017. He was born in 2016 and came from a sanctuary in Florida. Mike resides in a state-of-the-art habitat specifically designed for him on campus.
“It’s a very serious business to be acquiring an animal on the endangered species list—especially an apex predator,” says Dr. David Baker, LSU’s attending veterinarian who took over the care of Mike V in 1994, then helped locate Mike VI in 2007, and now supervises the care of Mike VII since the big cat arrived on campus last year. More tigers live in captivity or as exotic pets—as many as 7,000 in the U.S., according to some estimates—than in the wild, where only 2,500 Bengal tigers remain, mostly in India and surrounding countries. “There are so many tigers in this country because people breed them irresponsibly,” Baker says. Over-breeding leads to a black-market tiger trade, a cycle with grim outcomes. That’s what propelled LSU to begin seeking out tigers that need to be saved.
Ten years later, after Mike VI lost a battle with cancer, Baker helped acquire Mike VII née Harvey from a Florida sanctuary that was being forced to downsize. Despite the rah-rah value a live tiger can bring to a football game, the caretaking philosophy of LSU s veterinarians has evolved to focus exclusively on Mike s well-being.
Mike resides in a state-of-the-art habitat specifically designed for him on campus. The habitat provides a comfortable and natural environment for the tiger, including plenty of space to roam, a waterfall, and a pool. LSU has a long tradition of having a live tiger mascot, with each tiger being named Mike.
LSU has no plans to change its mascot despite online petition
Louisiana State University is not planning to change its Tiger mascot in the face of an online petition that contends the mascot is racist, a school official said in a statement Tuesday.
Two weeks ago, an anonymous author “LaMallori LSU” began a petition on Change.org to “Change the Racist Mascot of LSU!” The petition had 639 signatures in support as of Wednesday morning.
According to the petition, LSU’s mascot honors a Confederate regiment called Louisiana’s Tigers that represented the state in the Civil War.
Jason Droddy, LSU’s interim vice president for strategic communications, said in a statement Tuesday that the university is aware of the petition and that LSU’s mascot is more symbolic of the live tiger kept on campus:
LSU is aware of the largely anonymous petition suggesting the university change the mascot. The tiger mascot was adopted in the 1890s by the football team and was selected based on lore about the battlefield ferocity of a Louisiana regiment operating in Northern Virginia. However, the tiger has been used by militaries across time and geography. A more recent example is Gen. Claire Chennault, who attended LSU and led the infamous Flying Tigers in China during World War II.
The LSU Tiger mascot is much more closely associated with the live mascot housed on our campus. LSU acquired its first live tiger in 1924, but the current line of Mike the Tigers dates to 1936, when the name Mike was chosen to honor popular LSU athletic trainer Mike Chambers. Since that time, students, alumni, fans, and opponents have associated the mascot and moniker with LSU’s live mascot, Mike the Tiger. LSU is currently searching for Mike VII, and through its tiger mascot program has not only become a national leader in caring for tigers, but has also raised awareness of the plight of tigers in the wild.
LSU is not planning to change the Tiger mascot.
The author of the petition described how LSU’s first football coach, Dr. Charles E. Coates, wrote about where the name came from in a 1937 alumni column:
“The Louisiana Tigers had represented the state in Civil War and had been known for their hard fighting. This name was applied collectively to the New Orleans Zouaves, the Donaldsonville Cannoniers, and to a number of other Louisiana companies sent to Virginia, who seemed to have the faculty of getting into the hardest part of the fighting and staying there, most of them permanently. One company I knew of went in 200 strong; only 28 returned and many of these were wounded.
So ‘Louisiana Tigers’ went into the New Orleans papers and became our permanent possession.”
Author Dan Hardesty confirmed this in his book, LSU: The Louisiana Tigers, explaining that the “Louisiana Tigers … distinguished itself with its fighting spirit in the battle of the Shenandoah Valley, where it was said they ‘fought like tigers.’ ”
The same year LSU gave itself the nickname, the football team went 6-0 and outscored its opponents 136-4, so the name fit the action on the field.
Paul Hoffman, a professor emeritus in LSU’s history department, said the original “La Tigers,” the Zouaves, were unruly drunkards and that some members of the football team also subscribed to this behavior, making the nickname fit even more. Hoffman said there’s little doubt the name may have been part of a Confederate nostalgia movement called the “Lost Cause” in the 1890s.
In the petition, the author alleges that the Louisiana Tigers were “violent to the black slaves they owned, and later even more violent once those slaves were set free,” and that “it is incredibly insulting for any African-American to have to attend to a school that honors confederate militantism.”
Although the postwar behavior of the unit wasn’t the focus of his research, Hoffman said, he did not find any documents to support that claim. The professor also cautioned against taking Coates’ word as fact since he was speaking from memory in 1937 about what happened in 1896.
Hardesty noted in his book that the Civil War was nowhere close to being the first Louisiana unit with the nickname and LSU also started as a military school, meaning it wouldn’t be that far-fetched for the institution to adopt the name.
“As far back as 1845, in the Mexican War,” Hardesty wrote, “four different volunteer units from Louisiana used the nickname.
“The Washington Artillery Battalion from New Orleans used that name in the Mexican War and again in the Civil War.”
To this day, Louisiana military regiments still use the nickname: The Louisiana National Guard 256 Infantry Brigade is called the Tigers, and in 2004, Louisiana soldiers who were assigned to Camp Liberty in Iraq changed the name to Camp Tigerland.
Typically, colleges that change the mascots of their athletic teams are putting the kibosh on the use of references to Native Americans, such as:
- Stanford University – Indians to Cardinal (1972)
- University of Massachusetts – Redmen to Minutemen (1972)
- Dartmouth – Indians to Big Green (1974)
- Siena – Indians to Saints (1988)
- St. John’s (New York) – Redmen to Red Storm (1994)
- Miami (Ohio) – Redskins to RedHawks (1997)
- Louisiana-Monroe – Indians to Warhawks (2006)
- North Dakota – Fighting Hawks to Fighting Sioux (2012)
Rhiannon Walker is an associate editor at The Undefeated. She is a drinker of Sassy Cow Creamery chocolate milk, an owner of an extensive Disney VHS collection, and she might have a heart attack if Frank Ocean doesn't drop his second album.
After three days of tryouts, a group of about five students is selected to carry out the tiger-sized role of making mascot magic happen for the upcoming school year.
The idea of having a live tiger on campus originated from a proposal by a student in the early 1900s. The first live tiger mascot, Mike I, arrived on campus in 1936 and was donated by a local circus. Since then, each subsequent tiger has been named Mike in honor of Mike I. Mike the Tiger is an important symbol of LSU's spirit and pride. The university's athletic teams are known as the LSU Tigers, and the tiger mascot represents the strength and fierceness of the athletes. Mike attends home football games and other major sporting events, becoming a beloved figure among the LSU community. Having a live tiger as a mascot does come with its challenges. The university takes great care to ensure the well-being and safety of the tiger. Mike receives regular veterinary check-ups and a team of caretakers monitor his habitat. LSU also promotes conservation efforts and education about tigers and their habitats through the presence of Mike the Tiger on campus. In conclusion, the LSU mascot is a tiger named Mike. Having a live tiger as a mascot is a long-standing tradition at LSU, and each tiger is named Mike in honor of the first live tiger mascot that arrived on campus in 1936. Mike the Tiger represents the spirit and pride of LSU, attending home games and other sporting events. The university takes great care in ensuring the well-being of the mascot and uses the presence of Mike the Tiger as an opportunity to promote conservation and education about tigers..
Reviews for "The Cat's Meow: LSU's Tiger Mascot as a Marketing and Branding Tool"
1. Sam - 2 stars - I was really disappointed with the LSU mascot, Tigr. Firstly, the costume looked old and worn-out, which was quite unappealing. Secondly, Tigr did not interact with the crowd much or show any kind of enthusiasm. It felt like the mascot was just going through the motions without putting any effort into entertaining the fans. Overall, the experience was lackluster, and I think LSU should consider revamping their mascot to create a more engaging and entertaining atmosphere.
2. Emily - 1 star - I attended an LSU game recently, and the mascot Tigr was a huge letdown. The costume was dingy, the colors were faded, and it looked like it hadn't been properly cleaned in ages. Additionally, Tigr seemed disinterested and barely engaged with the crowd. The whole point of a mascot is to get the crowd energized and excited, but Tigr failed to do that. It was a disappointing experience, and I think LSU should invest in a new, more vibrant and enthusiastic mascot that can truly bring the spirit to their games.
3. John - 2 stars - The LSU mascot, Tigr, didn't impress me at all. The costume was outdated and looked shabby. Tigr's movements were clumsy and lacked finesse, which made it less enjoyable to watch. It seemed like the performer inside the suit didn't have enough training or experience to bring the character to life. Overall, Tigr failed to create any excitement or connection with the crowd, and I left the game feeling unimpressed with the mascot's performance.
4. Sarah - 2 stars - I was really looking forward to seeing the LSU mascot, Tigr, in action, but it fell short of my expectations. The costume design lacked creativity and looked like a generic tiger suit. Tigr's interactions with the audience were minimal, and it failed to create the kind of energy and excitement you would expect from a mascot. I left the game feeling underwhelmed and wished that LSU would work on upgrading their mascot to create a more memorable and engaging experience for the fans.
5. Michael - 1 star - The LSU mascot, Tigr, was a major disappointment. The costume looked outdated and poorly made, which immediately lowered my expectations. Tigr's interactions with the crowd were lackluster, and it failed to bring any energy or excitement to the game. Overall, I found the performance of the mascot to be subpar, and I think LSU should consider investing in a new, more captivating mascot that can truly engage and entertain the fans.