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The field has been narrowed to four in the battle to determine the best mascot in NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball
The Off the Block/TallSlim Tees College Men’s Volleyball Mascot Challenge semifinals begin today.
The semifinal matches will be decided through fan voting on the Off the Block website with the winners advancing to the championship round.
These four mascots reached the semifinals following the five-day round-robin stage. The top two teams in each division at the end of the round-robin stage qualified for the semifinals.
Along with the championship title, the winning school will receive a $100 donation from Off the Block that will go towards helping the champion mascot travel to a road or postseason men’s volleyball match during the 2021 season.
Below are the semifinals polls for the day and the bios of each mascot remaining in the tournament field. The polls close at 10 p.m. (CST) Monday.
Individuals can also view the tournament standings and cast their votes at offtheblockblog.com/mascotchallenge.
This poll is no longer accepting votes
This poll is no longer accepting votes
Abe
School: Lincoln Memorial
Mascot description: President Abraham Lincoln
Established: N/A
Mascot fun fact: A new Abe that is slimmer and slightly taller than the previous version of the mascot was unveiled last year. In the introduction video, the old mascot formally handed off his ax to the new Abe.
Men’s volleyball note: Lincoln Memorial has the right president mascot for volleyball. Lincoln at 6-foot-4, not including his hat, is the tallest president in U.S. history.
Cosmo
School: BYU
Mascot description: Cougar
Established: 1953
Mascot fun fact: BYU used to have live cougars on its sidelines before Cosmo. The school opted to name the new mascot Cosmo to represent the diverse student body.
Men’s volleyball note: Cosmo is often seen pumping up the Smith Fieldhouse crowd during BYU home matches and has been in attendance during the Cougars’ recent NCAA Tournament appearances.
Nittany Lion
School: Penn State
Mascot description: Mountain lion
Established: 1904
Mascot fun fact: Fellow EIVA member Princeton is indirectly responsible for the creation of the Nittany Lion mascot. Princeton before a baseball game showed the Penn State team a statue of the school’s bengal tiger in an attempt of intimidation. A Penn State baseball player impromptuly said the mascotless team was called the Nittany Lions and it was the “fiercest beast of them all.”
Men’s volleyball note: The Nittany Lion has been a fixture at the EIVA Tournament but sometimes he opts to not wear his iconic blue and white scarf with volleyball being an indoor sport.
Thunder
School: Grand Canyon
Mascot description: Antelope
Established: 1981
Mascot fun fact: Thunder is the second name change for the Grand Canyon mascot — it previously was called Andy the Antelope and then Johnny Lope. In addition, Thunder wears a No. 49 in honor of the school being founded in 1949.
Men’s volleyball note: Grand Canyon men’s volleyball may have two home venues, but that doesn’t prevent Thunder from roaming the sidelines at both Antelope Gymnasium and GCU Arena.