Mascot Madness Returns

03/07/2016

Mascot Madness is back, and Cortland’s Red Dragon faces a three-way challenge in the opening round of the annual battle to prove which school has the most popular sports sidekick in the 64-campus SUNY system.

All SUNY Cortland students, alumni, faculty, staff, parents and friends can help Blaze reach his goal by casting votes on his behalf during the competition, which starts today, March 8. The contest, patterned after the NCAA tournament, will narrow the field during five rounds of voting. A winner will be selected March 30.

In the first round, Blaze faces the mascots from Columbia-Greene Community College and from Jamestown Community College. CGCC’s mascot is Rip, a caricature of the fictional character Rip Van Winkle. JCC has two mascots, J.J. the Jayhawk and Jax, a cat-like critter of some kind.

Cortland Red Dragon supporters can – and should – cast their votes at www.cortland.edu/blaze. Blaze fans can vote once every 12 hours. They can also enlist help from friends, family and strangers on the street.

“This is a great opportunity for all people who have a connection with SUNY Cortland to show their school spirit in a lighthearted way,” President Erik J. Bitterbaum said. “Blaze has come close to winning in the past. Let’s make this the year he brings the honors back to Cortland.”

If Blaze makes it past the first round and continues through the end, this is the voting schedule:

Round 2: March 14 – March 17
Round 3: March 18 – March 22
Round 4/Final Four: March 23 – March 25
Finals: March 28 – March 30

Recently, SUNY Administration sent a series of questions to mascots at all SUNY campuses. Below are the questions, as well as Blaze’s answers:

Who are you and what do you do?

Blaze the Red Dragon, the fierce, fire-breathing mascot of SUNY Cortland’s powerhouse athletic teams. What do I do? Whatever I want. Did you miss the part about fire-breathing dragon?

Where did you work before you were hired as a mascot?

Westeros. I was chief of security enforcement for Daenerys Targaryen during her hostile takeover attempt of the Seven Kingdoms. I left because I wanted something that would challenge me intellectually.

What is your most embarrassing mascot moment?

An allergy attack during our Cortaca Jug rivalry game. Big sneeze. Took out half the Ithaca College bench and scorched the scoreboard.

Which mascot would be your SUNY sidekick?

Let’s put it this way: 17 out of 19 SUNYAC Commissioner’s Cups and four national championships just last year. ALL of the SUNY mascots are our sidekicks.

What is your favorite part of New York State?

Cortland and Central New York in general. It’s beautiful, there’s a ton of active things to do, and you can get anywhere in New York from here pretty easily. Plus, it’s a great place for barbecue!

Have you ever studied abroad?

Does New Jersey count? But seriously, I studied history in Europe, art in Asia, biology in South America and education in Australia — all through SUNY Cortland’s amazing study abroad program, which was the first in the SUNY system.