Cosmo is the official

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

's (BYU) athletic teams. He can be seen at almost all sporting events, wearing the

uniform A uniform is a variety of clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, ...

of the team that is playing. In the past, Cosmo's job was a

volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

position, and no

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

or academic assistance was given. However, scholarships and other benefits are offered today. The mascot is expected to be involved in civic events and university functions. Cosmo was named the Mascot "National Champion" in the SXM College's Twitter poll in April 2020.

History of Cosmo

Before the costume

Cosmo comes to life

On October 15, 1953, Cosmo made his first appearance in front of BYU fans. Dwayne Stevenson, the pep chairman of BYU, bought the costume for $73 and persuaded his roommate Daniel T. Gallego to wear it and thus become the first Cosmo. The name Cosmo derives from the word "cosmopolitan" and was chosen because BYU had recently been selected as a Cosmopolitan school. Cosmo became immediately popular, and since Gallego many people have been Cosmo, including BYU president Ernest L. Wilkinson, who once put on the costume at a pep rally.

LaVell Edwards Reuben LaVell Edwards (October 11, 1930 – December 29, 2016) was an American football head coach for Brigham Young University (BYU). With 257 career victories, he ranks as one of the most successful college football coaches of all time. Among ...

, the legendary football coach for the Cougars, wore the Cosmo costume during the final season basketball game against Utah in 1981 for the unveiling of that year's Cosmo, Brian Larney (In Dec. 1980 the Cougars beat SMU in the "Miracle Bowl" led by Jim McMahon in San Diego) (The Basketball team led by

Danny Ainge Daniel Ray Ainge ( ; born March 17, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and former professional baseball player who serves as an executive for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A three-s ...

went on to the NCAA Tourney and beat UCLA and then Notre Dame in the final seconds.)

Cosmo undergoes cosmetic surgery

On September 2, 1997, BYU's Athletic Media Relations announced that while hunting Red Tail Hawks (rival Utah's mascot) in Rock Canyon, Cosmo fell 100 feet. Several students saw the fall, however, and called Utah Valley Search and Rescue, which performed emergency surgery on Cosmo. This included reduction in head size, which allowed Cosmo more range in motion and the ability to perform more daring stunts. Cosmo frequently does flips, walks on stilts, rides motorcycles, and performs slam dunks in order to please the crowd. It was remarked once on ESPN that Cosmo was "probably the most athletic mascot in college basketball."

Cosmo today

Cosmo's workload of performances at more than 450 functions a year necessitates that there be more than one Cosmo at a time. A team of people, Team Cosmo, helps him with his antics. He drives around in the Cosmobile, a van retrofitted for Cosmo's active lifestyle, and also owns a go-cart.

In popular culture

Cosmo and the media

Recently, Cosmo has been the subject of a series of short films, "Cosmo Begins," and "Cosmo: Reloaded," which have been displayed between the third and fourth quarters at home football games. He also participated in the Capital One Mascot Bowl and was featured on several commercials that showed on national television.

Past Cosmos

Over 70 people have been Cosmo over the year

Some of them include: * Daniel T. Gallego, 1953–54 * Clive Moon, 1954–55 * Ray Pope, 1955–56 * Peggy Herron Mortensen, 1955–56 * Daniel T. Gallego, 1959–60 * Roy Spradley, 1960–61 * Buddy Youngreen, 1961–62 * John Bennion, 1971–72 * Michael T. Dowling, 1976–77 * Jim Daly, 1977–78 * Dave Wright, 1982–83 * David Broach, 1987–88 * Paul Thorley, 1988–89 * Bret Pope, 1989–90 * Michael Porter, 1990–91 * G. Craig Randall, 1990–92 * Richard Dee Lalliss, 1990–92 * Brent Hales, 1992–93 * Gary R. Arbuckle Jr., 1993–94 *Cameron K. Mylroie, 1994-95 * Aaron G. McGavock, 1999–2001, * Rich Summers, 2001-04 * Devin Nelson, 2002-2005 * C. Ryan Osorio, 2004-05 * Justin Leavitt 2005–07 * Andrew Syndergaard 2005–09 * Stephen Jones ca. 2010 * Josh Drean, 2008–2011 * Matt McClure, 2012–2015 * Charlie Bird, 2015–2018 * Grant Taylor, 2016-2020 * Stephan Millard, 2017-2020

Gallery

File:CosmoAtTheParade.jpg, Cosmo at the 2006 Fourth of July parade in Provo

References

External links

*
Photographs of Cosmo the Cougar
from the L. Tom Perry Special Collections,

Harold B. Lee Library The Harold B. Lee Library (HBLL) is the main academic library of Brigham Young University (BYU) located in Provo, Utah. The library started as a small collection of books in the president's office in 1876 before moving in 1891. The Heber J. Gr ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cosmo The Cougar 1953 establishments in Utah Fictional mountain lions Lion mascots College mascots in the United States BYU Cougars Mascots introduced in 1953