Mascot's history dates back to UCR's inaugural year

Scotty, the UCR mascot, celebrated his 61st birthday this year, but did you know that his history dates all the way back to the first year that UCR was open for classes?

In November 1954, an election ballot listed six potential campus symbols whittled-down from 67 student suggestions including "The Unicorns." When none of these received a majority vote, the men’s basketball team led a write-in campaign for the "Hylanders." With a brief spelling adjustment, the "Highlanders" came to be the campus nickname. Scotty — originally a pint-sized bear in a kilt and scarf, playing bagpipes with a determined look — became UCR's mascot symbol.

In 1998 the mascot was redesigned with a fiercer image, and in 2010 students voted on a sleeker Scotty featuring a growling bear wearing a Tam O’Shanter. Scotty’s half-blue face plays homage to the Scottish hero William Wallace. For more UCR history, visit the University Archives on the fourth floor of Rivera Library.