Cosmo the Cougar

Cosmo the Cougar is the official mascot of Brigham Young University's (BYU) athletic teams. He can be seen at many sporting events, wearing the uniform of the team that is playing. In the past, Cosmo's job was a volunteer position, and no scholarship 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.

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

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 fortunately 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."

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. These can be found at the official website.[4] He also recently participated in the Capital One Mascot Bowl and was featured on several commercials that showed on national television.

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