Oregon State University’s mascot, Benny the Beaver, is simply put: iconic.
He’s on our merchandise, signs, social media feeds and probably half the stickers on students’ laptops. But let’s be honest, Benny isn’t real. He’s a costume. A lovable, high-energy, sweat-soaked costume — but at the end of the day is still just a person in a suit.
Meanwhile, some of our peer institutions are here doing the most.
At the University of Texas at Austin, “Bevo” the longhorn steer is an actual, living animal who attends football games and serves as a walking symbol of school pride.
Over at the University of Georgia, “Uga” the bulldog — currently Uga XI — has become a celebrity in his own right, with a lineage, handlers and even a custom air-conditioned doghouse on the sidelines.
So here’s the question: If Texas can have a longhorn and Georgia can have a bulldog, why can’t Oregon State have a beaver?
Well actually, OSU did in-fact once have real beaver mascots. In 1921, a starving beaver was found by students on a canoeing trip in the Mary’s River. The beaver was nursed back to health and, ironically, named “Bevo.” Sadly, Bevo was later stolen and never found.
According to OSU archives, after this instance, “Billy” Beaver emerged. Billy Beaver was another live beaver that was under the care of OSU’s Wildlife Club. This was the first beaver to be clearly marked as OSU’s new “beaver mascot.”
Billy died under unknown circumstances, but his image lived on.
Billy was the first beaver to be featured as a cartoon and was published in newspapers and other publications, including The Daily Barometer. A cartoon of Billy became the face of the school until the ‘90s, when the school changed its mascot logo to become what was called the “Angry” Beaver.
Some may point to these past cases as being reason enough not to reinstate a true beaver as our mascot, and to that I say: We didn’t stop electing U.S. presidents after they got shot. Why should we stop championing Oregon’s greatest beast as our mascot?
This brings me to branding. OSU already leans into beaver imagery heavily. It’s in the name of our mascot, it’s in the statuary around campus and it is deeply tied to Oregon’s identity as the Beaver State. We even go so far as being the only state in the country to dedicate the backside of its flag to the sole image of the beaver.
A real, true beaver would instantly become one of the most recognizable mascots in not just the Pacific Northwest, but perhaps in all of college sports.
And let’s face it, when it comes to the OSU-University of Oregon rivalry, Puddles — as a mascot costume — has Benny beat any day of the week.
According to The Oregonian, UO obtained the rights to create a Donald Duck-like mascot in a handshake deal between Walt Disney and Athletic Director Leo Harris in 1947. Since then, OSU has had to compete with a pseudo-Disney character for Oregon’s most beloved mascot, and honestly, Corvallis has always lagged behind in this regard.
Having a true beaver as a mascot instantly puts OSU in its own lane. Imagine recruits touring campus and being told, “Oh yeah, we actually have a beaver.”
A real beaver mascot could also be an educational opportunity for students and researchers, not just a gimmick.
OSU is a land-grant university with strong programs in environmental science, wildlife biology, forestry and conservation. A beaver on campus — humanely cared for in a proper habitat — could become a living symbol of the university’s commitment to ecological stewardship.
It’s not hard to picture informational signage explaining beaver ecology, habitat management and restoration, along with their role as a keystone species in Oregon’s ecosystems.
When it comes to social media presence, it isn’t uncommon for Instagram reels or TikToks from the Oregon Zoo to go viral, showcasing small moments in the lives of the animals in their enclosures.
This is especially true for cute videos of beavers at the zoo, who go viral simply by chewing wood, dragging branches or being weighed and examined by researchers. Something similar to this could be used to boost OSU’s presence on people’s social media feeds.
Of course, there are logistical and ethical concerns. Beavers are wild animals. They chew, they burrow and they definitely don’t pose for selfies on command. Any serious proposal would need to prioritize animal welfare above all else.
A more realistic model would be a dedicated, naturalized habitat maintained in partnership with wildlife experts, where students could learn about beavers in a respectful, low-impact way.
Some may say this idea is impractical, expensive or just plain weird. But college mascots are inherently weird. We already dress a human up as a giant cartoon rodent and have them rip a chainsaw on third-downs. Compared to that, responsibly caring for a real beaver in an educational setting doesn’t seem that far-fetched.
OSU doesn’t need to join in on the gimmick of housing live mascots, like Texas or Georgia, to have school spirit. However, borrowing the idea of a living mascot — and adapting it in a way that reflects OSU’s academic strengths and environmental values — could turn an already beloved symbol into something even more meaningful to those in the beaver state.
