Cosmo the Cougar

Cosmo
Cosmo
University	Brigham Young University
Conference	Big 12 Conference
Description	Anthropomorphic cougar
Origin of name	BYU’s mascot got its name after BYU was named a “cosmopolitan” school in 1953.
First seen	October 15, 1953
Website	cosmocougar.com

Cosmo is the official mascot of Brigham Young University's (BYU) athletic teams. He can be seen at almost all 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. He is also the brother of Cosmo Cougar Junior, Cooper Cougar, Corbin Cougar, Cosmabelle Cougar, and Charlotte Cougar.

Cosmo was named the Mascot "National Champion" in the SXM College's Twitter poll in April 2020.^[1]

History of Cosmo

Before the costume

Cosmo comes to life

On October 15, 1953, Cosmo made his first appearance in front of BYU fans.^[2] 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.^[3] 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.^[3]

Cosmo undergoes cosmetic surgery

On September 2, 1997, BYU's Athletic Media Relations announced that while hunting Swoop the Hawk (rival) Utah's mascot in Rock Canyon, Cosmo fell 100 feet. Several students saw the fall, however, and called Utah Valley Search and Rescue, which performed emergency surgery on Cosmo. This included reduction in head size, which allowed Cosmo more range of 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."

Cosmo today

Cosmo's workload of performances at more than 450 functions a year necessitates that there be more than one Cosmo at a time.^[4] A team of people, Team Cosmo, helps him with his antics.^[5] He drives around in the Cosmobile, a van retrofitted for Cosmo's active lifestyle, and also owns a go-cart. In 2020, Cosmo won the Sirius XM Mascot Bracket Championship and was named National Champion of Mascots.^[6]^[7]

Cosmo at the 2006 Fourth of July parade in Provo

In popular culture

In 2012 Cosmo has been the subject of a series of short films,^[2] "Cosmo Begins," and "Cosmo: Reloaded," which have been displayed between the third and fourth quarters at home football games.^[8] He also participated in the Capital One Mascot Bowl and was featured on several commercials that showed on national television.^[9]

Past Cosmos

Over 70 people have been Cosmo over the years. Some of them include:

Daniel T. Gallego, 1953–54^[2]
Clive Moon, 1954–55^[2]
Ray Pope, 1955–56^[2]
Peggy Herron Mortensen, 1955–56^[2]
Daniel T. Gallego, 1959–60^[2]
Roy Spradley, 1960–61^[2]
Buddy Youngreen, 1961–62^[2]
John Bennion, 1971–72
Michael T. Dowling, 1976–77^[2]
Jim Daly, 1977–78^[2]
Brian Larney, 1981^[10]
Dave Wright, 1982–83^[2]
Scott Bateman, 1985–86^[2]
David Broach, 1987–88
Paul Thorley, 1988–89^[2]
Bret Pope, 1989–90 ^[2]
Jerry Kearns, 1990-91; Michael Porter, 1990–91^[2]
G. Craig Randall, 1990–92^[11]
Richard Dee Lalliss, 1990–92^[11]
Brent Hales, 1992–93 ^[2]
Gary R. Arbuckle Jr., 1993–94 ^[2]
Cameron K. Mylroie, 1994-95
Aaron G. McGavock, 1999–2001,^[2]
Rich Summers, 2001-04
Devin Nelson, 2002-2005
C. Ryan Osorio, 2004-05 ^[2]
Justin Leavitt 2005–08^[2]
Andrew Syndergaard 2005–09^[2]
Chris Sullivan 2008-2010
Stephen Jones ca. 2010^[12]
Kyle Ellison, 2008–2011^[2]
Josh Drean, 2008–2011^[2]
Matt McClure, 2012–2015^[13]
Charlie Bird, 2015–2018^[14]
Grant Taylor, 2016-2020^[15]
Stephan Millard, 2017-2020^[16]^[17]

References

^ @SXMCollege (17 April 2020). "After looking into the voting of the..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x Walker, Michael R. (Winter 2012). "History of the Cosmos". BYU Magazine. 66 (1): 26–33. Retrieved May 19, 2012.
^ ^a ^b Tietjen, Courtney (2018-04-10). "The history of Cosmo". The Daily Universe. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
^ Walker, Michael R. "Observing the Cosmos (1990)".
^ Haleck, Emily. "Cosmo inseparable from BYU sports (2003)". Archived from the original on 2006-01-13.
^ "Big Red Falls In Controversial Mascot Bracket Championship Round". WNKY News 40 Television. 2020-04-17. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
^ "Cosmo crowned mascot national champion". BYU Athletics - Official Athletics Website - BYU Cougars. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
^ "Home". Cosmo Cougar. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
^ Harper, Mitch (30 October 2021). "BYU's Cosmo Appears In 'Heisman House' TV Commercial". KSL Sports. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
^ Greenhalgh, Paul (2014-07-07). "Cougar Kickoff Countdown: 53 days". Vanquish The Foe. Retrieved 2024-09-10.
^ ^a ^b "1990-1999 Alumni Cheerleaders". Archived from the original on 2011-02-03. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
^ "Secrecy: the key to Cosmo's success". universe2.byu.edu. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
^ "BYU's Cosmo provides more than just backflips for fans". Daily Herald. Retrieved 2015-10-17.
^ Alberty, Erin; Cannon, Kelly (2019-02-26). "In an interview after coming out as gay, man who was BYU's dancing Cosmo the Cougar talks about 'shame and isolation'". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
^ "King & Queen of Country Swing". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2020-08-01.
^ Throwback to my days as Cosmo The Cougar #tricking #byu #martialartist #blackbelt #taekwondo, retrieved 2022-10-01
^ Harper, Mitch (2020-06-05). "Life As BYU's Cosmo: What It Takes To Become A National Champion Mascot". KSL Sports. Retrieved 2022-10-01.

External links

[1] @SXMCollege (17 April 2020). "After looking into the voting of the..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.

[byum2012-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x Walker, Michael R. (Winter 2012). "History of the Cosmos". BYU Magazine. 66 (1): 26–33. Retrieved May 19, 2012.

[:0-3] Tietjen, Courtney (2018-04-10). "The history of Cosmo". The Daily Universe. Retrieved 2023-11-02.

[4] Walker, Michael R. "Observing the Cosmos (1990)".

[5] Haleck, Emily. "Cosmo inseparable from BYU sports (2003)". Archived from the original on 2006-01-13.

[6] "Big Red Falls In Controversial Mascot Bracket Championship Round". WNKY News 40 Television. 2020-04-17. Retrieved 2023-11-02.

[7] "Cosmo crowned mascot national champion". BYU Athletics - Official Athletics Website - BYU Cougars. Retrieved 2023-11-02.

[8] "Home". Cosmo Cougar. Retrieved 2023-10-31.

[9] Harper, Mitch (30 October 2021). "BYU's Cosmo Appears In 'Heisman House' TV Commercial". KSL Sports. Retrieved 2 November 2023.

[10] Greenhalgh, Paul (2014-07-07). "Cougar Kickoff Countdown: 53 days". Vanquish The Foe. Retrieved 2024-09-10.

[alumni-11] "1990-1999 Alumni Cheerleaders". Archived from the original on 2011-02-03. Retrieved 2009-04-07.

[12] "Secrecy: the key to Cosmo's success". universe2.byu.edu. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2022.

[13] "BYU's Cosmo provides more than just backflips for fans". Daily Herald. Retrieved 2015-10-17.

[14] Alberty, Erin; Cannon, Kelly (2019-02-26). "In an interview after coming out as gay, man who was BYU's dancing Cosmo the Cougar talks about 'shame and isolation'". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2019-06-18.

[15] "King & Queen of Country Swing". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2020-08-01.

[16] Throwback to my days as Cosmo The Cougar #tricking #byu #martialartist #blackbelt #taekwondo, retrieved 2022-10-01

[17] Harper, Mitch (2020-06-05). "Life As BYU's Cosmo: What It Takes To Become A National Champion Mascot". KSL Sports. Retrieved 2022-10-01.

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v t e 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 Mormons vs. Mullets
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 1943–1945 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 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
National championship seasons in bold

v t e BYU Cougars men's basketball
Venues	Smith Fieldhouse (1951–1971) Marriott Center (1971–present)
Rivalries	Gonzaga Utah In-state Utah schools
Culture & lore	Cosmo the Cougar "The Cougar Song" BYU Pep band
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of 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 1999–2000 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 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25