Pistol Pete (New Mexico State University)

Pistol Pete
University	New Mexico State University
Conference	WAC / Sunbelt
Description	Person in cowboy hat, vest, and chaps, twirling pistols
First seen	1950s

Pistol Pete is the mascot for the New Mexico State Aggies, the athletic teams of New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA. Pistol Pete is portrayed by a NMSU student dressed in traditional cowboy attire, including a cowboy hat, a vest, and chaps, and armed with twirling pistols. NMSU licenses Pistol Pete from Oklahoma State University for $10/year as part of a settlement of a copyright infringement lawsuit.

For many years, NMSU's athletics logo was a caricature of Old West gunfighter and lawman Frank "Pistol Pete" Eaton which was identical to that of Oklahoma State.

Pistol Pete was disarmed in 2005 as part of a controversial plan to rebrand the university on the national stage. Pete's pistol was replaced with a lasso, and his name was briefly officially abbreviated to simply "Pete." The costumed mascot seen at games also lost his six shooters and holster belt in favor of a lasso. The disarming of Pete led to a massive uproar among students, alumni and outsiders demanding the return of Pete's guns. Popular T-shirts worn around campus featured the old Pistol Pete logo modified to show an oversized gun in his hand, with the slogan “Who Brings a Lasso to a Gunfight?” The decision was even criticized by Fox News anchor Bill O'Reilly during his "Most Ridiculous Item of the Day" segment. The most popular nickname given to the widely unpopular new mascot was "Lasso Larry."

After one year the university removed the cartoonish mascot in favor of a real student dressed in more traditional cowboy attire, carrying a holster belt and six shooters, and wearing a black cowboy hat. The "Pistol Pete" name was also restored. In 2007, NMSU modified the "Lasso Larry" logo to remove the lasso and once again depict Pistol Pete carrying pistols, and this is now the official athletics logo.

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