The Evolution of Sparky: A History of the Arizona State University Mascot
Mascots play a vital role in college sports, embodying a team's identity and building school spirit. While Arizona State University's (ASU) Sun Devil mascot, now known as Sparky, seems an obvious choice, its origin story involves a series of transformations and a touch of Disney magic.
From Owls to Bulldogs: The Early Years
Like many universities, ASU's mascot evolved over time. The school initially adopted the owl as its mascot. As ASU transitioned into a Teacher's College, there was a desire to emulate other established universities by adopting the bulldog as its new mascot. The school thought it would give them more credibility if they followed the mascot trend set by other colleges like Yale and Georgia.
The Birth of the Sun Devil
In 1945, when Arizona State College replaced the Teacher's College, discussions about a new mascot began. Students felt that having the same mascot as other schools wasn't as impressive as they initially thought. Through their student newspaper, the State Press, the students made a strong case for a mascot that stood out a bit more. They wanted a Sun Devil. The State Press, the student newspaper, ran frequent appeals during the fall of 1946, urging the Bulldog to be replaced by the new Sun Devil.
On November 8, 1946, the Sun Devil was chosen in an 819-196 vote. On November 20, as reported by the Arizona Republic, the student council made it official. The following day, the first Arizona State team played as the Sun Devils.
Sparky's Design and the Disney Connection
Two years later, ASU enlisted the talents of Berk Anthony, a Disney illustrator and proud alumnus, to create a design for the newly adopted Sun Devil mascot. Stanford Alum and Disney illustrator Berk Anthony designed "Sparky", a devil holding a trident (colloquially referred to as a pitchfork). He created today's iconic look, initially just designing Sparky as a logo, not a fleshed-out character.
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Over the years, a rumor circulated that Berk Anthony intentionally gave Sparky facial features resembling his boss, Walt Disney. Anthony has since said that any resemblance was purely coincidental, but the resemblance is undeniable. Sparky the Sun Devil is the official mascot of Arizona State University.
Sparky's Image Beyond the University
In the 1970s and early 1980s, Orange Julius beverage stands used the image of a devil with a pitchfork around an orange, further popularizing the Sun Devil image.
Controversy and Redesign Attempts
On March 1, 2013, Arizona State announced they were joining forces with the Walt Disney Company to redesign the mascot costume, as part of an effort to modernize the character, and planned to use the character in comic books, children books and animated features. The school also announced that they planned to continue using the iconic mark in various ways, including marketing and selling apparel alongside the new version of the character.
This change was met with backlash from students, alumni, and fans. Arizona State University President Michael Crow indicated that officials were meeting with student leaders to discuss the issue; afterwards, Sparky's new look was scrapped on March 19, 2013.
The school later announced that it had created a program for members of the ASU community to vote on Sparky's redesign in which users were able to choose between different features for the mascot. The most popular features were used for a new look that will be fully unveiled at the first football game in the fall of 2013. His updated look includes many of the same features of the older mascot but with different material that is easier to clean. Unlike the more cartoon-like Sparky designed with Disney, the newest version is viewed as more representative of the historical drawing.
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Sparky's Role and Traditions
The hand gesture "The Pitchfork", which is widely used by those associated with Arizona State, is an extension of the trident that Sparky carries during football games. On football game days, Sparky will do push-ups after every ASU score to match the total of points they have in the game.
An Unfortunate Prank
In September 2015, the Arizona State Sun Devils football team played a game against the University of New Mexico. At halftime, there was a ceremony that included many city officials for a ceremony to go along with the City of Tempe Night at the stadium. As the city officials were lined up on the sideline of the field, Sparky leaped on councilman David Schapira's back. What Sparky did not know was that Schapira was still recovering from a back operation from July. Schapira filed a claim against the university over the injuries he suffered during the halftime ceremony.
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tags: #arizona #state #university #mascot #history
