Indiana has announced a date for the debut of the new Hoosier the Bison mascot.
Hoosier the Bison will make its first public appearance at the IU football home opener on Aug. 30.
Indiana faces Old Dominion at 2:30 p.m. ET at Memorial Stadium.
The full release from IU Athletics follows, with more background on the decision to bring back the bison.
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For Immediate Release
July 14, 2025
Bloomington, Ind. – The Bison is back in Bloomington.
Indiana University’s official mascot – Hoosier The Bison – has returned to the IU-Bloomington campus after a nearly 60-year hiatus. The mascot’s homecoming is a result of the ‘Bring Back the Bison Act’ passed by the Indiana University Student Body Congress on Dec. 16, 2024. In response to the student government vote to re-adopt the Bison as the official IU-Bloomington mascot, IU Athletics moved forward with embracing it as a symbol of both the department and campus’ spirit, passion, tradition, unity, and success.
The culmination of those efforts will be on display beginning this fall. Hoosier The Bison will make its public debut at IU Football’s 2025 Aug. 30 season opener against Old Dominion at Memorial Stadium.
Why a bison? The state of Indiana and the bison have been linked for more than two centuries. In fact, the bison has been used as an Indiana symbol longer than Indiana has been a U.S. state. The bison first appeared on official court documents signed by then Indiana Territory Governor and future U.S. President William Henry Harrison in 1801, a full 15 years before Indiana became the country’s 19th state in 1816. The Indiana Territory seal depicted a woodsman chopping trees while a bison runs in the foreground, symbolizing the country’s expansion on the Indiana frontier (at the time, the western boundary of the United States). The bison has been a part of the Indiana state seal ever since.
In addition to the bison’s tradition in the state of Indiana, it also has been a part of Indiana University and the city of Bloomington’s history since the 1960s.
The Original Bison Mascot – 1965
At the recommendation of the IU Student Athletic Board and confirmed by the Indiana University Student Senate, the bison mascot was officially adopted and brought to life on October 14, 1965. The original intent, though, wasn’t to have a costumed character parading around IU. Instead, student leaders advocated for the university to purchase a live bison, to be housed in nearby Brown County State Park, when the animal wasn’t on campus for gamedays and special events. State and university officials frowned on the idea and warned students about the perils of keeping a live bison. Undeterred, students moved forward with a suggestion from then IU Foundation Executive Director Bill Armstrong to have a student in a bison costume. The first bison mascot debuted just in time for the final home football game that year – the Old Oaken Bucket game on November 20, 1965.
The Authentic Bison Mascot – 1966-1967
By the time the 1966 Indiana Football season kicked off, the bison had a new look. With a full offseason to explore new possibilities, the IU Student Athletic Board, with the assistance of a Los Angeles based company, created a new mascot costume. Unlike the first rendition, the new version had some staying power and not only patrolled the sidelines in 1966, but also witnessed IU Football’s exhilarating 1967 Big Ten Championship Rose Bowl season. The head-to-toe mascot costume included a very large realistic, authentic-looking bison head. Unfortunately, the mascot performer’s line-of-sight and mobility was limited due to the costume’s design and led to additional changes.
The Rose Bowl Bison Mascot – 1967-69
As Indiana Football prepared for its first ever trip to the Rose Bowl, the university parted ways with the more authentic-looking bison mascot costume, worn during the regular season (and displaying the large realistic head). Instead, a new bison costume was created with similar features but more mobility for the performer inside. The new bison mascot costume debuted just in time for the January 1, 1968, Rose Bowl matchup with USC. The updated bison costume returned for the 1968 and 1969 seasons but student and fan support for the bison mascot began to wane and ultimately led to a long hiatus from the campus.
The Bison Lives On
While Indiana University stopped utilizing the Bison mascot in an official capacity, starting in the 1970s and subsequent decades that followed, its presence, history at IU, and support from the larger university and Bloomington community were intertwined and never entirely ignored. One of Bloomington’s most popular off-campus restaurants and gameday traditions, Nick’s English Hut, embraced the Bison and still does so to this day. Founded as a sandwich shop in 1927, the nearly 100-year-old establishment began using a version of the IU Bison in its logo in the 1960s (after IU originally adopted the Bison as its official mascot). Also, the university’s heraldic coat of arms, adopted in 1962, displays a crimson bison, sun symbol, open book, and the university’s motto Lux Et Veritas. IU’s Army ROTC Bison Battalion, one of the oldest college ROTC units in the country (dating back to 1917), has displayed the Bison as its moniker-of-choice for decades including today’s campus Bison Battalion ROTC unit. Moreover, during the 1980s and 90s, under Head Coach Bill Mallory, Indiana Football teams wore helmet stickers displaying a black silhouette bison with an IU trident logo. In more recent years, a bison character mascot has also been a part of Little 500 races and College of Arts and Sciences events. This fall , the Marching Hundred will unveil new uniforms, including silver buttons engraved with the Indiana state seal depicting a bison.
The Bison Returns
In the fall of 2024, the bison mascot returned to IU in much the same way it debuted nearly 60-years earlier. On December 16, 2024, the Indiana University Student Government reaffirmed the bison as Indiana University’s official mascot. In doing so, Student Government leaders requested that IU Athletics take the lead in creating, unveiling, and ultimately reintroducing the bison mascot on behalf of the campus. Hoosier the Bison will officially be unveiled at the first home football game this year on August 30.
While Hoosier The Bison has returned as IU-Bloomington’s official mascot, IU-Bloomington’s official nickname remains ‘The Hoosiers.’ IU Athletics will have additional updates in the coming weeks regarding Hoosier The Bison, including official IU Athletics Bison apparel and appearance opportunities. In the meantime, you can follow Hoosier The Bison on its official social media channels on X and Instagram.
