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Colorado boulder mascot

The University of Colorado Boulder has one of the more unique mascots in all of intercollegiate athletics, a live buffalo mascot named Ralphie. Ralphie, with a team of varsity student-athletes called Ralphie Handlers, is a symbol of Buff pride and is best known for leading the football team onto the field on game day. As one of the most exclusive sights in college or professional sports, even opposing teams are excited to watch her round the end zone and fly by their sideline.

In their most famous appearances, Ralphie and the Handlers run across Folsom Field in a horse shoe pattern with the football team behind them at both the start of the game and the start of the second half. Five Ralphie Handlers run with her around the field, four on either side of her to help guide her around the field and one in the back to help control her speed. The rest of the team guides her from a distance, showing her the route and keeping the field clear of obstructions. Ralphie and her Handlers can reach speeds of 25 miles per hour. Ralphie and her Handlers also make special appearances throughout the year talking to fans and educating them about the University of Colorado Boulder, Colorado Athletics, Ralphie, and buffaloes in general.

Ralphie has always been a female bison because of their size and temperament. Males can weigh 1,000 pounds more and stand a foot taller than females. Due to the nature of working with a live animal, Ralphie’s appearances maybe subject to last minute delay or cancelation in the best interest of Ralphie. Additionally, whether or not Ralphie runs at a football game is at the sole discretion of the Program Manager, who may cancel it in the best interest and well-being of Ralphie. Ralphie’s appearances or runs may also be canceled if field or weather conditions are unsafe for either Ralphie or the Ralphie Handlers.

Since the start of the Ralphie Program, it has been funded exclusively through donations from fans, keeping this great tradition going strong year after year. Donations made to the program cover all expenses associated with the program including the feeding, care, and maintenance of Ralphie, as well as all travel expenses, Handler uniforms and gear, and any equipment for the team.

Ralphie Handlers and the athletic department view Ralphie as a good luck charm; therefore, they track the wins and losses for each game she makes an appearance at. What do the stats tell us: she's the best mascot, win or lose.

Want to know where Ralphie is? Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Colorado Buffaloes debut newest mascot, pre-teen, 500-pound buffalo donated by Nebraska rancher

Handlers guide Colorado mascot Ralphie VI in the animal's traditional run before an NCAA college football game against Northern Colorado, Friday, Sept. 3, 2021, in Boulder, Colo. The run was the first for Ralphie VI. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

• David Zalubowski

Handlers guide Colorado mascot Ralphie VI on first ceremonial run in the first half of an NCAA college football game Friday, Sept. 3, 2021, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

• David Zalubowski

Handlers lead Colorado mascot Ralphie VI out of her pen for the traditional run before an NCAA college football game against Northern Colorado, Friday, Sept. 3, 2021, in Boulder, Colo. The run was the first for Ralphie VI, who was making her first appearance at a game. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

• David Zalubowski

Handlers guide Colorado mascot Ralphie VI on the traditional run before an NCAA college football game against Northern Colorado, Friday, Sept. 3, 2021, in Boulder, Colo. The run was the first for Ralphie VI. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

• David Zalubowski

Handlers guide Colorado mascot Ralphie VI on first ceremonial run in the first half of an NCAA college football game Friday, Sept. 3, 2021, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

• David Zalubowski

Handlers guide Colorado mascot Ralphie VI on first ceremonial run in the first half of an NCAA college football game Friday, Sept. 3, 2021, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

• David Zalubowski

Handlers guide Colorado mascot Ralphie VI on ceremonial run in the first half of an NCAA college football game Friday, Sept. 3, 2021, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

• David Zalubowski

Taylor Stratton, program manager for CU’s Ralphie Live Mascot Program, makes her last run as a handler for Ralphie V in 2013. Photo by Joel G. Broida

• Joel G Broida

A 500-pound star is born.

As the chant “We want Ralphie” thundered through Folsom Field in Boulder, a pre-adolescent buffalo calmly waited in her pen, taking in the hoopla. Then Ralphie VI introduced herself to the world, with dark brown fur and doe eyes and tiny horns that have inches to go before becoming the handlebar mustache-style horns buffaloes are famous for.

Handlers guide Colorado mascot Ralphie VI out of her pen for her first career run before a football game this month , 2021, in Boulder.

the associated press

After a year of no fans in the stands because of the pandemic, the hyped-up crowd was ready for some football. But on this Friday before Labor Day, a pregame performance had equal footing: the debut run of Ralphie VI, the newest live mascot at the University of Colorado.

As a 15-person team of Ralphie handlers — all CU students and all cloaked in Western wear that included black cowboy hats — congregated around her pen in the northeastern corner of the stadium, preparing to run alongside the galloping beast on her horseshoe route, Taylor Stratton whispered a few last words into the youngster’s ear.

Handlers guide Colorado mascot Ralphie VI on first ceremonial run in the first half of an NCAA college football game Friday, Sept. 3, 2021, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

“I told her she was the best and bravest buffalo in the whole wide world, and she proved me right,” said Stratton, a 2009 Cheyenne Mountain High School graduate and manager of CU’s Ralphie Live Mascot Program. Stratton spent four years as assistant manager before taking over in April 2020, making her the second woman to head the program founded in 1966.

Taylor Stratton, a 2009 Cheyenne Mountain High School graduate, stands with Ralphie V in 2016, when she was assistant manager of CU’s Ralphie Live Mascot Program. She became the program manager last year.

courtesy of Bryce Boyer

It was a job well done for both young Buffs, who fulfilled their mission to pump up the crowd as the team emerged from the stadium tunnel before the game and again toward the end of halftime.

“We’re trying to progress to that next stage where we can run out with her, but she’s a baby,” football coach Karl Dorrell said. “She looks good and I think she enjoyed it, having the crowd cheer for her. She’s going to be a good one, and she’s got an interesting personality, too.”

Colorado runs right past Northern Colorado in Ralphie VI's debut

Origin of Ralphie VI

Prepare to adore this 15-month-old buffalo even more: She was an orphan when Nebraska ranchers found her and brought her back to their ranch, where she was adopted and raised by a beef cow.

She came into the hands of CU alum Will Isham, owner of Isham Ranch, south of Rapid City, Neb., when he got word from his daughter, also a CU alum, that Stratton and the Ralphie program were on the hunt for a new buffalo. Ralphie V retired after the 2019 football season, having served as mascot for a dozen years. She now lives on the same undisclosed Colorado ranch as Ralphie VI.

“Taylor told us what she wanted, and we looked for that type of animal,” said Isham, who graduated from Cheyenne Mountain in the late 1970s.

“Their program wanted something that hadn’t grown up around buffaloes and had been without its mother. That’s how they want to get them started. They have to start out as a baby, and they wanted it to be weaned from its mom early.”

Ralphie IV, CU Buffs' retired mascot, has died

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Isham found Ralphie VI, bought her and donated her to the university. He delivered the little girl himself.

“Buffaloes are great creatures,” Isham said “They won’t charge you. They’ll try to get away from you. The only time they’re dangerous is when they’re calving; then they’re scary to be around. Buffaloes just want out. Another big thing is they all come at once. They have a herd mentality.”

Ralphie VI is the newest buffalo in CU’s Ralphie Live Mascot Program. The 500-pound female was donated by Isham Ranch in Nebraska.

Courtesy of Taylor Stratton

Baby Ralphie was 4 months old and 100 pounds when she arrived at her new Colorado home. Stratton, who also spent three years as a Ralphie handler before graduating in 2013, immediately got to work making friends.

“I brought a sleeping bag out and spent several nights in the barn with her,” Stratton said. “She’s used to me. She knows us. But no matter how comfortable you get around large animals, they are large prey animals. They’re unpredictable. No one should ever forget that safety is top priority.”

Colton Behr, the program’s assistant manager, calls Ralphie a sweetheart: “She’s very comfortable around humans and is pretty calm and very curious. She likes licking gloves and jeans. At the ranch, she likes looking at our phones and shovels and wheelbarrows, any tools. She likes her people, too. Wherever we go, she wants to come with us.”

Handlers guide Colorado mascot Ralphie VI on her first ceremonial run in the first half of an NCAA college football game this month 2021, in Boulder , Colo .

the associated press

But she does have a penchant for one particular human: “Colton is her favorite person in the world,” Stratton said. “She follows him around.”

Behr, a graduate of CU and Discovery Canyon High School, was a handler during all four years of college. He ran with Ralphie V about 40 times on game days and 200 to 300 times in practice sessions. “You’re holding the rope and all of a sudden you’re at the trailer,” he said.

“Every single time is just as fun as the first. You’re getting the feel of the crowd, hearing the crowd chant ‘We want Ralphie,’ and feeling the stadium shake.”

Training camp

Running around Folsom Field would be unnerving for any creature, let alone a young buffalo. The bright lights, the screaming fans. But that’s where training comes into play. It’s a rigorous process, but one Stratton feels comfortable with, after growing up on a ranch with beef cows and quarter horses south of Colorado Springs.

Ralphie, Cam the Ram among most beloved mascots

Getting Ralphie used to running into her trailer was step one, followed by having her run with handlers without ropes, then handlers with ropes and eventually the horseshoe pattern she’d do on game day. To get her accustomed to the noise inside Folsom Field, Stratton played crowd sounds on her phone and took Ralphie to the stadium for practices alongside the football team and dance and cheer teams.

“I was just so proud of her and the team,” Stratton said about Ralphie’s debut. “It’s a hard thing to ask of a wild animal that had less than a year. We did a lot of training to make sure she’s prepared.”

There will be less work going forward for the animal, who’s estimated to end up smaller than her predecessor, an intimidating 1,300 pounds. She’ll be full-grown by age 5 and reach the majority of her final size by age 3. Stratton still sees her six days a week for animal behavior training and wellness checks, and she and Behr also provide her with enrichment. They give her toys to kick and headbutt, including a jolly ball, which is tied up like a tetherball for her to play with.

“I love it. It’s the best job in the entire world,” Stratton said. “I could not feel luckier. I love getting to wake up every day and work with my athletes, both the two-legged and four-legged kind. Folsom Field on game day is an experience like no other.”

PETA calls for CU Boulder to stop using live buffalo mascot

Ralphie V, the University of Colorado mascot, runs on the field during the Pac-12 game with Arizona on Oct. 5, 2019. Animal-rights group PETA is calling for the university to retire the live mascot program.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is calling for University of Colorado Boulder leaders to do away with the tradition of Ralphie, the live buffalo mascot whose wild runs kick off home football games.

In a letter addressed to CU system President Mark Kennedy and posted online Wednesday, the animal rights group described the use of live animal mascots as “a recipe for disaster.”

“Even if animals aren’t physically harmed, it’s hard to imagine that they enjoy being paraded before raucous crowds, entirely out of their element, and treated as if they were toys rather than living, feeling beings with interests, personalities and needs of their own,” wrote Marta Holmberg, senior director of youth programs for PETA. “Being forced into a stadium full of bright lights, exuberantly screaming fans and loud noises is stressful — and can be terrifying — for animals who have no idea what’s going on or why.”

Kennedy has not received a letter from PETA, according to system spokesman Ken McConnellogue.

CU Boulder announced the retirement of Ralphie V on Nov. 12 and is currently searching for her successor. The university has no plans to stop the Ralphie tradition, said spokesman Ryan Huff.

In a statement, Ralphie manager John Graves said Ralphie V had a happy and safe tenure as CU Boulder’s mascot.

“No one cares more about Ralphie’s well-being than the handlers and me,” Graves said. “From the time Ralphie V was 6 months old, I’ve been by her side nearly every day for the past 13 years. I am confident she is happy and healthy. That will continue in the years ahead at her ranch alongside the next Ralphie.”

CU Boulder has used a live animal mascot since 1967, Graves said, which includes a track record of safety and plenty of precautions — including the recent decision to retire Ralphie V after she started becoming less responsive to cues from her handlers.

“Ralphie enjoys the spotlight as the queen of our campus and she gets better care than most buffalo,” Graves said. “We are now in the process of finding Ralphie VI, and that will require months of training for her and the handlers to ensure we continue this tradition in a safe and healthy way.”

PETA has a history of protesting any live animal mascot, including the University of Georgia’s bulldog, Uga, and Louisiana State University’s Bengal-Siberian tiger, Mike.

Boulder resident Jennifer Rodehaver said ending the Ralphie program was her first thought after hearing Ralphie V was retiring.

“The whole idea of using animals for entertainment is really abhorrent to me,” she said. “It has to do with a sort of arrogance humans have that they can own another creature and train it to do tricks or confine it, to take away that animal’s rights to just be, to exist as their masters of their own destiny.”

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Keep Cool on Halloween Night with a Crocheted Witch Hat