Otto the Orange

Otto the Orange
	160px Logo version of Otto the Orange
University	Syracuse University
Conference	ACC
Description	Anthropomorphic orange
First seen	1980

Otto the Orange is the mascot for the Syracuse Orange, the athletic teams of Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York, USA. Otto is an anthropomorphic orange, wearing a large blue hat and blue pants. Otto can usually be seen at Syracuse sporting events in the Carrier Dome and other university sporting events.

History

Saltine Warrior

The Syracuse mascot was originally a Native American character named "The Saltine Warrior" (Syracuse's unofficial nickname is the Salt City) and "Big Chief Bill Orange".^[1] The character was born out of a hoax in which it was claimed that a 16th-century Onondogan Indian chief was unearthed while digging the foundation for the women's gymnasium in 1928.

In the mid-1950s, the father of a Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity brother owned a cheerleading camp. He made a Saltine Warrior costume for his son to wear at SU football games. Thus began a nearly forty-year tradition of Lambda Chi brothers serving as SU's mascot. In 1990 however the University opened up the mascot traditions to the entire student body (Daily Orange, February 22, 1990).

In 1978, Native American students successfully petitioned the University to discontinue the Saltine Warrior, citing the mascot's stereotypical portrayal of Native Americans. During the 1978 season, the University introduced a Roman gladiator dressed in orange armor, but the idea proved largely unpopular among fans, who regularly booed the mascot.^[1]

Otto becomes official

Otto the Orange, 2013

In the summer of 1990, the cheerleaders and mascots were at a UCA Cheerleading Camp in Tennessee and the students who were chosen to suit up in the costume narrowed the field down to two potential names -- "Opie" and "Otto"—as a new orange costume was made. It was concluded that the name "Opie" would lead to the inevitable rhyme with 'dopey', and settled on "Otto." Later that fall, word got out that the cheerleaders were calling the latest mascot costume Otto, and the name stuck.^[1]^[2]

For 17 years the university did not settle on an "official" mascot until the chancellor appointed a group of students and faculty to create a mascot and logo. University administration considered introducing a new mascot (a wolf or lion were likely candidates), but the student body supported Otto. He was recognized as the official mascot of Syracuse University by 1995.^[1]

References

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[2]

v t e Syracuse Orange football
Venues	Star Park (1889–1894) Old Oval (1895–1906) Archbold Stadium (1907–1978) Giants Stadium (1979) Rich Stadium (1979) Schoellkopf Field (1979) JMA Wireless Dome (1980–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Boston College Colgate Penn State Pittsburgh UConn West Virginia
Culture & lore	Otto the Orange Alma Mater "Down the Field" Marching band The Express: The Ernie Davis Story Scandal Syracuse Sports Network Highest-scoring game
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders All-Century Team
Seasons	1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 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
National championship seasons in bold

v t e Syracuse Orange men's basketball
Venues	Archbold Gymnasium (1908–1947; 1952–1955) State Fair Coliseum (1947–1951) Onondaga County War Memorial (1951–1952; 1955–1962) Manley Field House (1962–1980) JMA Wireless Dome (1980–present) Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center (practice)
Rivalries	UConn Georgetown Villanova
Culture & lore	"McNamara's Band" Otto the Orange Scandal 6-overtime game Syracuse Sports Network
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	1900–01 1901–02 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
Helms and Premo-Porretta national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics; NCAA championships in bolded italics

v t e Mascots of the Atlantic Coast Conference
Atlantic Division	Baldwin the Eagle (Boston College) The Tiger (Clemson) Osceola and Renegade (Florida State) Cardinal Bird (Louisville) Mr. & Ms. Wuf (North Carolina State) Leprechaun (Notre Dame) Otto the Orange (Syracuse) Demon Deacon (Wake Forest)
Coastal Division	Blue Devil (Duke) Buzz & Ramblin' Wreck (Georgia Tech) Sebastian the Ibis (Miami) Rameses (North Carolina) Roc the Panther (Pittsburgh) CavMan (Virginia) HokieBird (Virginia Tech)

Otto the Orange

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History

Saltine Warrior

Otto becomes official

References

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