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Tradition
Brigham Young University is home to an athletic program that is historically rich in spirit and tradition.
Athletic events at BYU are an integral part to the student and local community life. BYU enjoys some of the most dedicated fans
in the nation. The support for BYU athletics have helped contribute to the success enjoyed by the Cougars over the years in the
quest for excellence. The Cougars own 10 national championships in men's and women's sports, have claimed more than half of all
Mountain West Conference titles and boast nearly 600 All-American athletes.
Many aspects of athletic events have become synonymous with the BYU experience including BYU's mascot Cosmo, the Cougarette
dance team, the marching band and Y Mountain. These, along with other icons, have become a symbol of the spirit, pride and t
radition at BYU.
Cosmo
The Cougar, chosen as BYU's mascot by former coach Eugene L. Roberts in the early 1920s, has undergone
a tremendous evolution since its inception to become what is ow the feline phenomenon known as Cosmo the Cougar.
BYU purchased a pair of cougar cubs for 50 cents each in 1924 to excite BYU fans at athletic events. Live cougars prowled
the sidelines of BYU games on a regular basis through the late 1940s and on special occasions through the 1960s.
The original cubs were housed on the south side of campus until 1929 when they managed to break out of their cage, kill two
dogs and begin stalking livestock on nearby farms. Both were recaptured later the same day. One Cougar died, apparently from
natural causes, three weeks later, and the other was taken to the old Salt Lake Zoo. From then on, BYU procured its mascots
from nearby zoos and local bounty hunters but never owned its own cougars again.
Cosmo the Cougar, the brainchild of then-pep chairman Dwayne Stevenson, made his first official appearance before BYU fans on
October 15, 1953. At a cost of 73 dollars for the costume, Daniel T. Gallego, Stevenson's roommate, became the first man under
the fur. The name Cosmo was derived from BYU's diverse student body
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