Grizz’s origins stretch back to the early 1900s, when Puget Sound’s sports teams were briefly called the Grizzlies before adopting the Loggers as both a moniker and a mascot. In the early 2000s, members of the Associated Students of the University of Puget Sound (ASUPS) began to consider adding a new mascot to be a spirit leader that would rally fans and spread the Logger spirit. Leading that effort was then-ASUPS President Alex Israel ’06 and Vice President Ryan McAninch ’06.
A 2005 article in The Trail notes that several mascot options were floated in the early 2000s, including a proposal to adopt Paul Bunyan’s blue ox, Babe, to represent the school.
“Nobody wanted to be called the ‘Logger Babes,’” Israel told The Trail.
By evoking the old Grizzlies namesake, Grizz was able to function as a bridge between old Logger traditions and new ones. “Imagine the kind of spirit and excitement this could create, not just among students but alumni as well,” Israel said. “If just by seeing Grizz, people can feel Logger spirit, what’s it going to be like in 10 years?”
Grizz officially debuted at halftime during the Homecoming football game on Oct. 1, 2005, and has been a fixture of campus life ever since. For many Loggers, Grizz is as synonymous with their Puget Sound experience as the hatchet or the giant sequoia.
Alumni Council President McKenzie Mortensen Ross ’06 fondly remembers when she first saw the new mascot and still has one of the original Grizz T-shirts in her box of college keepsakes. “When Grizz debuted during Homecoming my senior year, I was immediately won over by his toothy grin and the mischievous glint in his eye,” Ross said. “I didn’t realize how fiercely nostalgic I was about Grizz until I heard that he was being updated and felt an immediate surge of anxiety. As it turns out, I needn’t have worried — it’s clear that a lot of Loggers feel just as deeply as I do about our fuzzy figurehead. Grizz 2.0 stays true to the cheeky spirit of the original, but with luxurious fur and an outfit that would make any Logger want to steal his look. Definitely a fan!”
When not busy attending events around campus, Grizz can often be found reading in the shade of the President’s Woods, creating in the Maker Space, helping out backstage at Schneebeck Concert Hall, summiting the Mountain, or enjoying a cool dip in Commencement Bay. A true Pacific Northwesterner, Grizz loves a good cup of coffee, fresh berries, and salmon.
