Brutus Buckeye Wins Popular Vote of Mascot of the Year Contest – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/23/2003 12:00:00 AM | Spirit Program
Dec. 23, 2003
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Brutus Buckeye earned more online votes – 34.1 percent – than any of the other 11 mascots he is competing against in hopes of becoming the Capital One National Mascot of the Year. Brutus edged Aubie, the Auburn mascot, who finished with 23.8 percent of the online vote. South Carolina’s mascot, Cocky, was third with 18.1 percent.
Online voting ended at 5 p.m. Monday as nearly 4.6 million people participated in the online voting process, which accounts for 50 percent of a mascot’s total score in the overall competition. The other 50 percent comes from an undisclosed ranking of an expert panel of judges, which was used to determine the original 12 members of the Capital One All-America Mascot Team.
Judging criteria included fan interaction, demonstration of good sportsmanship and community service. In the event of a tie, the judges will cast a final vote for the one mascot among those tied that best embodies the spirit of the competition. After the judges selected the Capital One All-America Mascot Team this summer, the 12 members of the team began competing for the title of Capital One National Mascot of the Year via online voting, which began Sept. 4.
The Capital One Mascot of the Year will be announced Jan. 1, 2004 at halftime during the ABC Sports telecast of the Capital One Bowl game between Purdue and Tennessee.
Final Online Polling Standings
34.1 Brutus Buckeye – Ohio State
23.8 Aubie – Auburn University
18.1 Cocky – University of South Carolina
7.5 Hairy Dawg – University of Georgia
4.1 Monte – University of Montana
3.3 Albert – University of Florida
2.7 YoUDee – University of Delaware
2.2 Smokey – University of Tennessee
1.9 Big Red – Western Kentucky University
1.1 Chip – University of Colorado
1.0 Scratch – University of Kentucky
0.5 Harry the Husky – University of Washington
