I am kicking this blog back off with a look at the University of Albany Great Danes. I’ve had it in my mind to write about this school for some time now–they are only three hours from Boston, they are (soon to be were) in the same conference as my alma mater, and I have a couple of friends who live in Albany. Oh, and I also had a UAlbany t-shirt at one point in time, and my shirt ownership was a requirement of getting your school featured.
UAlbany didn’t always call the Great Dane its mascot. Prior to 1965, the school’s mascot was Pedwin the Penguin, the mascot of the New York State College for Teachers. In that year, the student body chose the Great Dane, nicknamed Damien, to represent the school. According to UAlbany’s website, the Great Dane was selected “for its qualities of strength, courage, stamina and speed.” A statue of the Great Dane was sculpted in 1999 and placed in the lobby of the University’s main sports complex. In 2003, Damien was joined by Lil’ D to form a one-two costumed mascot punch, with Damien the fierce-looking mascot and Lil’ D the more friend-looking one.
The school competes in the America East conference and the Northeast conference and has 19 sports teams within the athletics department. According to Wikipedia, UAlbany is also the only school whose mascot is the Great Dane.
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