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Located in Beautiful Spokane Washington, Gonzaga University is all about basketball! Its men's basketball team, which did not make its first appearance in the NCAA tournament until 1995 has become nationally prominent since making the regional finals of the NCAA tournament. There is so much to learn about this exciting team and its history.
What’s in a name?
Gonzaga University was named after the young Jesuit saint, St. Aloysius Gonzaga.
The university chose it’s current mascot in 1921, and are known as the
"Bulldogs". Although the school’s official mascot is the Bulldog, marketing materials, fans and television announcers often use the term "Zags" as a mascot, which puts the school in the unique position of having a mascot sharing a name with the school, hence the "Gonzaga Zags."
Signs of a True Fan
- You always find away to wear your Blue, White and Red; clothes, iphone case, laptop case, messenger bag, etc.
- You know all the words to the "GONZAGA FIGHT SONG".
Oh when those brawny Bulldogs fall in line,
There's going to be a basket every time!
And we will cheer, cheer, cheer for old GU
Our alma mater, we will sing her praises too.
And then we'll cheer Zags for another score
And we will cheer them, cheer them all the more,
For we are Bulldogs of the Blue and White,
Full of Fight,
Fight on to victory!
- You don't mind crowds.
The Zags play in an arena with a capacity for 6,000!
Spike the Bulldog
Human mascots replaced live dogs in 1980 when a Gonzaga student, Mike Griffin, wore a cape and called himself "Captain Zag." He would remain the Gonzaga mascot from 1980 until 1982. A few more students would done the Captain Zag uniform before a Bulldog mascot would return in 1985.
Lee Mauney, a student from Hatchie Bottom, Mississippi, would introduce the Gonzaga crowd to the first human Bulldog mascot in 1985. He was the first student to wear the mascot suit and held the role from 1985-88.
Today Spike has become a recognized figure with Gonzaga basketball cheering at every home men's and women's basketball game. In 2000 Spike became a national figure when he was among a group of mascots that appeared in Nike's 'Welcome To Bracketville' commercials for the NCAA Tournament.
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