Top 10 Mascots of the 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament #7 - #5

7. Boston College Eagles

The eagle mascot was adopted by Boston College in 1920 and determined by Rev. Edward McLaughlin based on an eagle's symbolism. Soon after, two eagles were gifted to BC, but the birds did not take to their new home. One escaped and the other injured his beak attempting to escape. For 40 years after the school used a stuffed bird as their mascot, until in 1961 when students lobbied for a live mascot once again. The new mascot "Margo" was gifted by a Colorado man and for 5 years attended games while making her permanent home in a zoo. But in 1966, Margo died from a virus. The bird was now on the endangered species list, so the school began using a costumed student eagle to rally students at games. Boston College now has two costumed mascots, "Baldwin" and the ironically larger "Baldwin, Jr."

www.arizona.edu 6. Arizona Wildcats - Wilbur the Wildcat

The University of Arizona's first wildcat mascot was a live bobcat introduced in 1915. The cat was named Rufus Arizona, after the university president Rufus von KleinSmid. He was purchased by the freshman football team for $9.91 and was gifted to the school. Rufus has a number of successors, but the use of live mascots was discontinued in the mid-1960s. The first costumed human mascot named "Wilbur" debuted during the 1959 football season. Today Wilbur has a mascot wife, Wilma Wildcat, who he married on November 21, 1986.

uconnhuskies.com 5. University of Connecticut Huskies - Jonathan the Husky

The first live Husky mascot came to the University of Connecticut 1934. All UConn mascots are named Jonathan after Jonathan Trumbull, the Governor of Connecticut during the Revolutionary War. A Jonathan statue can also be found on campus and it is said students rub its nose for good luck.

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