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/> Victor E. Bull is the mascot for the

Buffalo Bulls The Buffalo Bulls are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University at Buffalo (UB) in Buffalo, New York. The Bulls compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level as a member of Mid-A ...

, the athletic teams of the

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 18 ...

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

.Objectology: Heads up: The many faces of the UB mascot
''AtBuffalo, Vol. 31, No. 2'', Buffalo, NY: University at Buffalo Alumni Association, Winter 2014, Retrieved 14 March 2014.UB parents: UB spirit: UB Bulls spirit
, ''University at Buffalo'', Buffalo, NY: University at Buffalo, 2014, Retrieved 14 March 2014.Send Victor E. Bull onward in SUNY Mascot Madness
''Buffalo.com'', Buffalo, NY: The Buffalo News, 22 March 2013, Tsujimoto, B., Retrieved 14 March 2014. Victor is an

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, includin ...

. Victor performs at all

home football and basketball games. In 2002, Victor E. Bull was chosen as a member of the

Capital One Capital One Financial Corporation is an American bank holding company specializing in credit cards, auto loans, banking, and savings accounts, headquartered in McLean, Virginia with operations primarily in the United States. It is on the li ...

All America Mascot Team.Another UB mainstay gets the ax; Happy April Fool's Day!
''UB Bull Run'', SB Nation/ Vox Media, Inc., 1 April 2013, Riordan, T., Retrieved 14 March 2014. Victor was featured in a national television spot along with eleven other national collegiate mascots, and was given a chance to compete for the Capital One Bowl mascot of the year as part of the Capital One Mascot Challenge. The mascot contest was open to all NCAA Division I-A and I-AA school mascots representing collegiate football programs. The twelve finalists were chosen by a panel of judges composed of representatives from

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

, and the mascot community. The judging criteria included fan interaction, good sportsmanship, and community service involvement. The winner of the 2002 Capital One Mascot Challenge was Monte from the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fa ...

. In 2013, Victor reached the Elite Eight stage of the SUNY Mascot Madness competition, earning 49% of the vote against Baxter, the Binghamton Bearcat. Victor was defeated by Baxter in a close race.

History

Buffalo's first unofficial mascot was a 175-pound

bison Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North A ...

head nicknamed "Boscoe," which was given to the students by two alumni in 1934 at the first Homecoming football game. It is unknown where the location of the bison head is now. In 1957, Buffalo acquired its first live mascot when

Mike Todd Michael Todd (born Avrom Hirsch Goldbogen; June 22, 1909 – March 22, 1958) was an American theater and film producer, best known for his 1956 production of '' Around the World in 80 Days'', which won an Academy Award for Best Picture. Act ...

and

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...

gave UB's cheerleaders a seven-month-old

black Angus The Aberdeen Angus, sometimes simply Angus, is a Scottish breed of small beef cattle. It derives from cattle native to the counties of Aberdeen, Banff, Kincardine and Angus in north-eastern Scotland. In 2018 the breed accounted for over 1 ...

- Irish

Dexter Dexter may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Dexter, the main character of the American animated series '' Dexter's Laboratory'' that aired from 1996 to 2003 * Dexter, a fictional character in the British web series ''Diary of a Bad Man'' * Dext ...

bull named "Buster." Dexters originated in Ireland, and are miniature cattle. Buster was born on a farm in

Western New York Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all sources agree WNY i ...

, and was presented to the school as part of Todd's and Taylor's visit with Buffalo Mayor Steven Pankow to celebrate Buffalo's 125th anniversary. As Buster matured, he became increasingly bad-tempered, and was replaced by Buster II and a whole line of successive Busters, all raised by an

Elma, New York :'' For other places with this name, see Elma''. Elma is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 11,721 at the 2020 census. The town is named after the American elm tree. Elma is in the county's central area, southe ...

farmer named Chester Malach. The live mascot tradition at Buffalo continued until 1970, when the university discontinued

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

Division I football. Prior to the creation of Victor E. Bull, Buffalo used a brown anthropomorphic bull character named "Woody Bully." In 1997, as part of Buffalo's preparation to return to the NCAA Division I, the Buffalo athletics department held a "name the mascot" contest with the help of the university newspaper. The name "Victor E. Bull" was submitted by undergraduate student, Rustie Hill, and was selected as the winning entry. Shortly thereafter, in 1997, the department adopted the anthropomorphic Victor E. Bull as the school's new mascot. At the football home opener that year, Hill was invited out onto the field with Victor E. Bull as he was introduced to the fans. Victoria S. Bull ("Vicki") was introduced as Victor's sister in 2001, but has not been seen for many years. A Sledding Victor E

Activities

Victor also participates in other campus-related activities in addition to appearing at football and basketball games. In 2000, he was present at a Kids Safety Day sponsored by the Chiropractic Center in

Cheektowaga, New York Cheektowaga () is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town has grown to a population of 89,877. The town is in the north-central part of the county, and is an inner ring suburb of Buffalo. The town is the ...

. On Orientation Day at UB in 2008 for incoming freshmen, Victor led the students and their parents by singing UB's fight song. Victor was also present, mingling with fans, at the 32nd Empire State Games that were held at UB in 2010. In 2011, Victor was active in the Recycle Mania Tournament at UB;RecycleMania 2011 - Victor E. Bull (video)
''YouTube'', University at Buffalo: UB Green; 18 January 2011, Retrieved 14 March 2014. and in 2012, he participated in an event to help raise cancer awareness.

In real life

Real life finds Victor E. Bull as a male UB student. He works out and plays sports to stay fit in order to be in costume for several hours for each event he works. Victor stated that wearing the costume causes him to sweat within a few minutes, so he is sure to exercise in his spare time, and stay hydrated during his events. The temperature inside the suit is 20–50 degrees warmer than the actual temperature outside the suit. Victor is compensated for his work by the UB Athletics Department.

References

External links

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Victor E. Bull in Recycle Mania 2011 (video)

Victor E. Bull introduction by UB True Blue (video)
{{Mid-American Conference mascot navbox Mid-American Conference mascots Buffalo Bulls