Colonel Ebirt was the unofficial school mascot for the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III ...

from 2001 to 2005. A

green and gold frog The growling grass frog (''Ranoidea raniformis''), also commonly known as the southern bell frog, warty swamp frog and erroneously as the green frog, is a species of ground-dwelling tree frog native to southeastern Australia, ranging from sout ...

that donned a tri-corner hat, Colonel Ebirt was originally used as a promotional tool for

Colonial Williamsburg Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has 7300 employees at this location and ...

. It became involved with the College athletics program when someone from the William & Mary gymnastics program volunteered to wear the costume. "Ebirt" is Tribe spelled backwards ("ebirt" is analogous to the more commonly heard frog call "ribit"), and "Colonel" comes from the school's historical and geographical ties to

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula ...

, specifically that of Colonial Williamsburg. The athletic department decided to "retire" Ebirt upon the conclusion of the 2005–06 school year.Since Colonel Ebirt was never an ''official'' mascot, the term "retire" is used loosely. On April 6, 2010, William and Mary announced that a

griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late Latin, Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail ...

was to become their official mascot, replacing Ebirt.

References and notes

External links

Interview with the Colonel Ebirt costume wearers
William & Mary Tribe Former college mascots in the United States Mascots introduced in 2001 Frog mascots {{mascot-stub

See also

References and notes

External links