Cosmo the Cougar

Cosmo at the 2006 Fourth of July parade in Provo

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.

History of Cosmo

Before the costume

This cougar was donated by the class of 1965 and stands outside the Lavell Edwards Stadium.

Cosmo comes to life

On October 15, 1953, Cosmo made his first appearance in front of BYU fans.^[1] 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.)

Cosmo undergoes cosmetic surgery

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."^[2]

Cosmo and the media

Recently, Cosmo has been the subject of a series of short films,^[1] "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. He also recently participated in the Capital One Mascot Bowl and was featured on several commercials that showed on national television.

Cosmo today

This van includes a 1600-watt, 12-speaker stereo system, a dance stage on top, a basketball hoop, a variety of specialty lights (on the top), a fog machine, several sirens, and a cordless public address system.

Cosmo's workload of performances at more than 130 functions a year necessitates that there be more than one Cosmo at a time.^[3] A team of people, Team Cosmo, helps him with his antics.^[4] He drives around in the Cosmobile, a van retrofitted for Cosmo's active lifestyle, and also owns a go-cart.

Past Cosmos

Over 40 people have been Cosmo over the years. Some of them include:

Daniel T. Gallego, 1953–54^[1]
Clive Moon, 1954-55^[1]
Ray Pope, 1955–56^[1]
Peggy Herron Mortensen, 1955–56^[1]
Henry Whiffen, 1956–57
Betty Mathie, 1957–58
Tamie Kirk Mahnken, 1958–59
Daniel T. Gallego, 1959-60^[1]
Roy Spradley, 1960-61^[1]
Buddy Youngreen, 1961–62^[1]
Neal Blair 1962–63
Ernest Olson, 1966–67
John Paxman, 1967–68
Christopher D. Dowling, 1970–71
John Bennion, 1971–72
Kirk Smith, 1972–73
Cliff Holley, 1974–75
Tom Nibley, 1975–76
Michael T. Dowling, 1976–77^[1]
Jim Daly, 1977–78^[1]
Kevin Ludlow, 1978–79
Matt Love 1979-80
Brian Larney 1980-81 (Miracle Bowl) (NCAA Sweet 16 Basketball)
Bruce Grode, 1981–82
Dave Wright, 1982–83^[1]
Gary Saunders, 1983–84
Marty Burton, 1984–85
Scott Bateman, 1985–86
Bob Cardon, 1986–87
David Broach, 1987–88
Paul Thorley, 1988–89^[1]
Bret Pope, 1989–90
Jerry Kearns, 1990-1991 (Detmer wins Heisman)
Michael Porter, 1990-91^[1]
G. Craig Randall, 1990-92^[5]
Richard Dee Lalliss, 1990-92^[6]
Brent Hales, 1992–93
Gary Arbuckle, 1993–94
Cameron K. Mylroie, 1994–95
C. Troy Allred, 1994-95
Brian Carroll, 1995–96
Rich Savage, 1996–97
Adrian Dayton, 1997–98
Brett Eden, 1998-01
Chad Little, 1998–99
Chad Payne, 1999-00
Aaron McGavock, 1999–2001
Ben Westover, 2000–2001
Devin Eden, 2001–03
Richard C. Summers, 2001–04
Jon Orgill, 2002–05
Justin Weidman, 2004-05
Devin Nelson, 2003–06
Justin Leavitt 2005-07^[1]
Andrew Syndergaard 2005-09^[1]
Keith Allen, 2007–10
Philip Pare, 2008–2014
Stephen Jones ca. 2010^[7]
Josh Drean, 2008-2011^[1]
Jorgan Jacobsen 2009-2012
James Dalton, 2010–2013
Nick Gonzalves, 2010–2013
Richard Leopold Wirthlin, 2013-2015
Nathan Hansen, 2011-2015
Joshua Hardman, 2011–2015
Matt McClure, 2012–2015^[8]

Jonathan Walker, 2015-Present

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Walker, Michael R. (Winter 2012). "History of the Cosmos". BYU Magazine. 66 (1): 26–33. Retrieved May 19, 2012.
↑ "Tryout Judging Criteria".
↑ Walker, Michael R. "Observing the Cosmos (1990)".
↑ Haleck, Emily. "Cosmo inseparable from BYU sports (2003)".
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↑
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↑ "BYU's Cosmo provides more than just backflips for fans". Daily Herald. Retrieved 2015-10-17.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cosmo the Cougar.

Official website

Brigham Young University

Academics

Athletics

Campus

Landmarks	Y Mountain Centennial Carillon Tower

Academics	Harold B. Lee Library Ernest L. Wilkinson Student Center Eyring Science Center Franklin S. Harris Fine Arts Center Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni and Visitors Center Heber J. Grant Building Jesse Knight Building Joseph Smith Building Maeser Building N. Eldon Tanner Building Spencer W. Kimball Tower

Museums	Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum Museum of Art Museum of Paleontology Museum of Peoples and Cultures

Athletics	LaVell Edwards Stadium Marriott Center Larry H. Miller Field Smith Fieldhouse

Off-campus	Jerusalem Center BYU Salt Lake Center

Housing	Residence halls

History

People

Student life

BYU Cougars football

Venues	LaVell Edwards Stadium (1964–present)

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Utah: Holy War (Beehive Boot) Utah State (Beehive Boot, The Old Wagon Wheel)

Culture & lore	Cosmo the Cougar "The Cougar Song" BYU Cougar Marching Band Miami Beach Brawl

People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders

Seasons	1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

National championship seasons in bold

BYU Cougars men's basketball

Venues	Smith Fieldhouse (1951–1971) Marriott Center (1971–present)

Rivalries	Utah In-state Utah schools

Culture & lore	History Cosmo the Cougar "The Cougar Song" BYU Pep band

People	Head coaches

Seasons	1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17

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