Jack the Bulldog (Georgetown)

From Hoopedia

Georgetown's nickname is the Hoyas, but its mascot is "Jack the Bulldog." Among the earliest mascots was a terrier named Stubby, whose name is largely unfamiliar today but was perhaps the most famous dog of his generation. Stubby was discovered by a soldier at the Yale Bowl, and went on to fight in the trenches of World War I in France. He was "promoted" to Sergeant for his actions in combat and awarded a special medal by General John J. Pershing in a post-war ceremony. His owner then entered Georgetown Law School, and Stubby became part of the halftime show.

From then on, Georgetown had a live dog as its mascot (most famously Rev. Vincent McDonough, SJ's dog, Hoya) until 1951, when the school joined a growing movement among private schools (begun at the University of Chicago) to elimnate football programs as un-academic. The dog as a symbol lived on, though, and sporadically students would bring pet bulldogs to games. In 1962 the school adopted as its logo a drawing of an English Bulldog named "Jack", sporting a blue and gray cap. In 1979, the university began the tradition of dressing up a student in a blue and gray bulldog. It has been said that Georgetown copied the University of Georgia's mascot.

Finally, in 1999, Rev. Scott Pilarz, S.J. revived the tradition of a live bulldog; when he left for the University of Scranton, Georgetown immediately secured a new bulldog puppy and found another Jesuit, Rev. Christopher Steck, S.J., to care for him.