Many people often say, “Why is the mascot a bird if it’s the Iowa State ‘Cyclones’?!â€
Well, let me drop a little knowledge on you…
Iowa State University has been known as the Cyclones since 1895 after the Chicago Tribune claimed the Northwestern football team had been “struck by a cycloneâ€. Iowa State Cyclones has since been the name for over 100 years!
In 1954, members of Iowa State’s Pep Council decided that Iowa State needed a mascot to represent the college. As you can imagine a cyclone would be hard to make into a mascot, and after they realized this they decided they needed to come up with something else. They landed on having a cardinal as the mascot because of Iowa State’s colors of Cardinal and Gold! The Pep Council then had a contest to come up with a name for the new mascot. There were 17 entries for the name ‘Cy’, and Wilma Beckman Ohlsen, of Ames, was given credit for being the first one to submit the name ‘Cy’! Collegiate Manufacturing then produced the first Cy, who was 8ft tall, and cost $200! Cy made his debut at Homecoming on October 16, 1954! Thus, our beloved Cy has been around ever since! He has gone through a few makeovers over the years, and now looks more fierce than ever!