College-bound Otto

Otto (the Syracuse University sports mascot) is trying to make his way around the geocaching world, visiting all the universities he can along the way and getting into as many pictures (!) as he can! We then would like him to head to Springfield, Mass. for SU Coach Boeheim's induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Otto is the official mascot of Syracuse University, an NCAA Division I school in Syracuse, NY.

One of the greatests recent achievements for which SU is recognized is their winning of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament in 2003.

Now officially known as the Syracuse "Orange" rather than the Syracuse Orangemen, the men's basketball team isn't the only one that Otto represents: he's also the beloved mascot of their other athletic teams. Here's a little excerpt from the SU Athletics website regarding Otto's name:

"In the early 1980's it was time again to look for a new sports mascot. Several cadidates (sic) were taken under consideration, including a penguin with an orange scarf, an orangutan, the Abominable Orangeman, the Orangeman, Egnaro the Troll and an Orange. In the end, it was a warm, fuzzy and lovable Orange (known by several names through the years) that won the day. Despite recent attempts to give him a facelift, Otto has remained the same and is here to stay.

"The mascot was known as "The Orange" until 1990 when the name Otto first came into use. The first Orange costume was dubbed "Clyde" by the Lambda Chi Alpha brothers, and the second called "Woody." In 1990 a third costume was being produced and needed a name. The cheerleaders were at Cheerleading Camp in Tennessee that summer and narrowed the field down to two potential names - Opie or Otto. Figuring the name Opie would lead to the inevitable rhyme with 'dopey', they settled on Otto. Later that Fall, word got out that the cheerleaders were calling the latest mascot costume... Otto[,] and the name stuck."