Brutus Buckeye

Brutus Buckeye
Brutus in Austin, TX before a football game against the Texas Longhorns
University	Ohio State University
Conference	Big Ten
Description	Anthropomorphic buckeye nut
Origin of name	Winning entry in competition
First seen	1965
Hall of Fame	2007

Brutus Buckeye is the athletics mascot of Ohio State University. Brutus is a student dressed in Buckeye colors with a headpiece resembling an Ohio Buckeye nut. Brutus made his debut in 1965, with periodic updates to design and wardrobe occurring in the years since. As a member of the cheerleading team, Brutus Buckeye travels to many events around the university and often makes appearances around Columbus.

History

Ohio State students Ray Bourhis and Sally Huber decided Ohio State needed a mascot in 1965 and convinced the athletic council to study the matter. At the time, mascots were generally animals brought into the stadium or arena. A buck deer was contemplated but rejected as impossible.^[1] Instead, the buckeye was selected, as the buckeye is the official state tree of Ohio. A simple papier-mâché chocolate was constructed by students, worn over the head and torso, with legs sticking out. It made its appearance at the Minnesota vs. Ohio State homecoming football game on October 30, 1965. The heavy papier-mâché chocolate did not last and it was soon replaced by a fiberglass shell. On November 21, 1965, The Columbus Dispatch reported that judges picked Brutus Buckeye to be the new mascot's name after a campus-wide "Name the Buckeye" contest. The winning name was the idea of then Ohio State student Kerry J. Reed, 21. "Block O" agreed to care for Brutus in December.^[2] In the early 2000s, the Brutus costume was stolen before a game. The mascot was forced to wear the old costume.

Brutus has a buckeye head and block O hat, scarlet and grey shirt emblazoned "Brutus" and "00", red pants with an Ohio State towel hanging over the front, and high white socks with black shoes. Male and female students both serve as Brutus Buckeye; generally two to five per year.

Appearances

Brutus Buckeye appears in ESPN This Is Sportscenter ads eating lunch and performing aerobics with Richard Simmons.
Brutus appears in Home Depot commercials advertising Glidden paint strapped to the back of a truck.
Brutus appears in the NCAA Football series and NCAA March Madness series of video games as a mascot and has his own mascot team.
During the 2002-2003 NCAA football season, Brutus was 1 of 12 contestants competing to be the Capital One National Mascot of the Year. Brutus appeared in approximately 4 commercials depicting the faux competition between the 12 mascots. He appeared again for the 2010-11 NCAA football season, this time with fifteen other mascots and then again in the 2011-12 NCAA football season.
In 2006, Brutus appeared on The Daily Show's Midwest Midterm Midtacular as a guest correspondent and was interviewed by Jon Stewart. In the middle of the interview, Brutus is caught and eaten by a giant squirrel, a play on the fact that he is a nut.^[3]
Brutus was the subject of a comic series from the College of Pharmacy at the University entitled "Adventures in Pharmacy". Episodes depicted Brutus as a patient stricken with common household illnesses including the influenza, gout and the common cold. Adventures in Pharmacy was created as a community service by The Ohio State College of Pharmacy, the Department of Athletics, and the Columbus Public Schools. One of the goals of this program is to educate students about the role pharmacists play in health care and the treatment of common illnesses.

2010 tackling

On September 18, 2010, the Ohio Bobcats football team played the Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus. As the Buckeyes were running onto the field, Brandon Hanning, dressed as Rufus the Bobcat, saw Ohio State mascot Brutus Buckeye leading the team and charged into the field. Hanning failed in his initial sideswiping attempt on Brutus, losing his mascot head in the process.^[4] Hanning then got back on his feet and ran after Brutus and jumped on his back and continued to hit the mascot in the head. Hanning was then pulled aside by security who told him to stop. Neither Rufus nor Brutus were harmed during the event. After the game, Hanning was terminated from his position as Ohio's mascot, and was banned from attending Ohio home athletic events.

In a post-game interview, Hanning explained that this was his sole purpose in trying out to be the mascot. "It was actually my whole plan to tackle Brutus when I tried out to be mascot," Hanning explained, "I tried out about a year ago, and the whole reason I tried out was so I could come up here to Ohio State and tackle Brutus." When asked if the attack on Brutus was the first mascot brawl he had been in he replied with, "Before this, I actually got in a fight with the Buffalo mascot. He's a bull. I started it. I was thinking I should go ahead and try out tackling another mascot. I brought a red square cape thing, like in a bullfight. He was just playing around, acting like he was charging me. I tackled him and put him on the ground. It was pretty funny. No one got upset because it wasn't Ohio State."

Footnotes

↑ OSU vs UM | Brutus Buckeye, Ohio State University Libraries, October 14, 2009. Retrieved on October 19, 2011.
↑ Brutus Buckeye Chronology, The Ohio State University Cheerleading. Retrieved on June 27, 2006.
↑ Jon Stewart (2006). Brutus Buckeye (TV-Series). Comedy Central.
↑ "Brutus Buckeye Attacked By Ohio Bobcat".

References

"Brutus Turns 40", Ohio State University Athletics Department press release, September 3, 2005. Retrieved on June 27, 2006.
Blundo, Joe, "Their Child Is a Nut, But They’re Proud", The Columbus Dispatch, October 16, 2006.
Kehoe, Susan, "Up close and personal with Brutus Buckeye", The Lantern, January 3, 2005. Retrieved on June 27, 2006.
Lestini, Gregory J. & Glenn, Anna, "Brutus Buckeye, recognized nut at Ohio State", The Lantern, November 22, 1996. Retrieved on June 27, 2006.
Martin, Melissa, "Brutus' threads under scrutiny", The Lantern, March 7, 2002. Retrieved on June 27, 2006.
Sowash, Audra, "Brutus Buckeye costume fits man, woman equally", The Lantern, April 12, 2001. Retrieved on June 27, 2006.
"Brutus Photo Page", Buckeye 50 Yard Line, Retrieved on November 5, 2008.

Books

Dean, Meredith; Marshall, Michelle; & Cleverley, James. The Spirit of a Buckeye: Brutus Buckeye's Lessons for Life. Cleverley Created, Ltd., Columbus, Ohio. ISBN 0-9675664-0-1.

Ohio State University

Campuses

Columbus Main Campus Delaware Center Lima Campus Mansfield Campus Marion Campus Newark Campus Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center Agricultural Technical Institute

Presidents

Orton W. Q. Scott W. H. Scott Canfield Thompson Rightmire McPherson Bevis Fawcett Enarson Jennings Gee Sisson Kirwan Jennings Holbrook Alutto Gee Alutto Drake

Academics

College of Dentistry College of Engineering John Glenn School of Public Affairs College of Medicine Fisher College of Business Moritz College of Law Health Sciences Center for Global Health Reading Recovery Ross Mathematics Program

Athletics

Bill Davis Stadium Jerome Schottenstein Center Ohio Stadium Ohio State University Golf Club OSU Ice Rink OSU baseball OSU men's basketball OSU women's basketball OSU field hockey OSU football OSU men's ice hockey OSU women's ice hockey OSU men's lacrosse OSU men's soccer St. John Arena Woody Hayes Athletic Center

Facilities

Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum Blackwell Inn Drake Performance and Event Center Hilandar Research Library John A. Prior Health Sciences Library Ohio State University Airport Ohio Union Orton Hall South Bass Island Light Thompson Memorial Library Wexner Center for the Arts Wexner Medical Center

Residential Facilities

237 E. 17th Avenue
Archer House
Baker Hall East
Baker Hall West
Barrett House
Blackburn House
Bradley Hall
Buckeye Village
Canfield Hall
Drackett Tower
Fechko House
German House
Hanley House
Haverfiled House
Houck House
Jones Tower
Lane Avenue Residence Hall
Lincoln Tower
Mack Hall
Morrill Tower
Morrison Tower
Neil Avenue
Neilwood Gables
Norton House
Nosker House
Park-Stradley Hall
Paterson Hall
Pennsylvania Place
Pomerene House
Scholars East
Scholars West
Siebert Hall
Smith-Steeb Hall
Taylor Tower
The Residence on Tenth
Worthington Building

Media

Buckeye TV The Lantern Journal of Law and Policy for the Information Society Journal of Money, Credit and Banking Journal of Number Theory Ohio State University Press WOSU-FM WOSU-TV / WPBO WOSA WVSG

Research

Traditions

Across the Field Brutus Buckeye Buckeye Battle Cry Carmen Ohio Hang on Sloopy Illibuck Maudine Ormsby Mirror Lake Ohio State Varsity O Hall of Fame Script Ohio OSU Athletic Bands OSU Marching Band UM-OSU Rivalry

Student life

American Folklore Society Anime Punch! Block O Buckeye Leadership Society Old North Columbus The Oval Activities & Organizations Sigma Alpha Sigma Eta Chi Texnikoi Engineering Honorary The Short North The Stadium Scholarship Program University District

Ohio State Buckeyes football

Venues	Recreation Park (1890–1897) Ohio Field (1898–1921) Ohio Stadium (1922–present) Woody Hayes Athletic Center (practice)

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Illinois Michigan (The Ten Year War) Penn State

Culture & lore	History Brutus Buckeye "Across the Field" "Buckeye Battle Cry" "Carmen Ohio" Neutron Man The Ohio State University Marching Band "Holy Buckeye" "Game of the Century" Block O "Hang On Sloopy" WBNS-TV WBNS WBNS-FM Ohio State IMG Sports Network

People	Head coaches All-Century Team Yearly statistical leaders NFL draftees Statistical leaders

Seasons	1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

National championship seasons in bold

Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball

Venues	Ohio Expo Center Coliseum (1920–1956) St. John Arena (1956–1998) Value City Arena (1998–present) Covelli Arena (practice; 2014)

Culture & lore	Brutus Buckeye Buckeye Nuthouse WBNS WBNS-FM Ohio State IMG Sports Network

People	Head coaches Retired numbers Statistical leaders

Seasons	1897–98 1898–99 1899–00 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15

NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

Mascots of the Big Ten Conference

East Division	No mascot (Indiana) Sparty (Michigan State) Brutus Buckeye (Ohio State) Testudo (Maryland) No mascot (Michigan) Nittany Lion (Penn State) Scarlet Knight (Rutgers)

West Division	No mascot (Illinois) Herky the Hawk (Iowa) Goldy Gopher (Minnesota) Herbie Husker / Lil' Red (Nebraska) Willie the Wildcat (Northwestern) Boilermaker Special / Purdue Pete (Purdue) Bucky Badger (Wisconsin)