The eagle is the most popular mascot among four-year colleges' sports teams. The mascot of 74 college and university teams, the eagle invokes a soaring, majestic avian predator that also gets a boost as the American national bird. Colleges that employ the eagle as their mascot include Eastern Washington University, the University of Mary Washington, Winthrop University, American University, Boston College and Georgia Southern University. Additionally, while the tiger is officially the mascot of Auburn University, they are also known as the War Eagles.
Representing 46 colleges and universities, the tiger represents the second most popular collegiate mascot. Big, ferocious cats have a long history as college mascots (see "Panthers" below, as well as Wildcats, Lions, Jaguars, etc.), but tigers are the favorite feline choice. In the Southeastern Conference alone, there are two schools -- Auburn and Louisiana State University -- that are known as the tigers. Additionally, Clemson University, Grambling State University, University of Memphis, Savannah State University and the University of Missouri all claim the tiger as their mascot.
Bulldogs are the third most popular mascot choice, with 39 colleges and universities using the unique dog to represent their sports teams. The most famous bulldog mascot, Uga, resides at the University of Georgia, where his ancestral line has been passed down since 1956. Georgetown's teams, known as the Hoyas, are officially knowns as bulldogs, too; other schools that employ a bulldog include Gonzaga University, Louisiana Tech University, Mississippi State University, The Citadel and Butler University.
Continuing the big cat theme, the panther is the mascot at 33 colleges and universities, making it the fourth most popular sports mascot. The panther is most commonly used at smaller colleges and universities, like Davenport University, Drury College, Middlebury College and Virginia Union University. However, it is also the mascot of choice at the University of Pittsburgh, University of Northern Iowa and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.