Colorado’s favorite buffalo received national attention when Fox Sports named Ralphie the coolest college football mascot on Sept. 1.  The stampeding bison beat out other recognizable and popular contenders such as Mike the Tiger of Louisiana State University, Uga the Bulldog of the University of Georgia and Bevo the Longhorn of the University of Texas.

Ralphie V, the current mascot, was introduced in November 2007. Like previous Ralphies, she was donated to the university by Ted Turner.  She was born at the Vermejo Park Ranch in northern New Mexico and began training for her duties at the age of two months.  When she started her job, she weighed 500 pounds. Now, she weighs 1,300 pounds and charges at 25 miles per hour. Seeing her thunder down the field before home football games excites CU students in a way few others can. Her presence on campus is uplifting as well.

“One day, I was having a really bad morning, and as I was walking to lab I saw Ralphie in front of Folsom,” says sophomore Andrea Sobel (MCDBio, Neurosci ex’13). “She made my day so much better because she is so cute and happy looking.”

Ralphie is not the university’s only notable macot, however. In January, Chip, CU’s costumed mascot, defended his no. 1 title in the Mascot National Championship, beating out mascots from across the country in a skit contest.

Ralphie will make her debut this year at the Rocky Mountain Showdown football game between CU and CSU on Saturday, Sept. 4 at Invesco Field.

The full story can be found at Fox Sports.