San Francisco State University - Mascot

Mascot

The school first adopted their mascot, the Gator, in 1931. After a call for a mascot by the student newspaper the Bay Leaf, students suggested the "alligator" for its strength and steadfastness. The student also suggested the spelling "Golden Gaters," with an "e," in reference to the Golden Gate. Students voted in favor of the name, but after numerous "misspellings" by the newspaper, the use of Gator, with an "o," stuck.

The team was called the Golden Gaters until the late 1940s. At that time, they began having two live alligators at football games, Oogee (oo-gee) and Ougee (aug-gee). The name was changed to the Golden Gators. The alligator mascots were dropped shortly and Golden was dropped from the name in the early 1970s.

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