University of Minnesota Duluth rethinks its Bulldog mascot makeover after growling from fans

DULUTH — The Bulldog mascot at the University of Minnesota Duluth got a major makeover — and it has fans foaming at the mouth.

Champ, the beloved furry canine that roams UMD athletic events and is considered celebrity-level special by the 12-and-under set, debuted a new look last week on the university's social media accounts and at a football game. The idea was to make the gray mascot look more like the school's yellow-gold Bulldog logo.

But reaction from alumni, students and other fans was both swift and ruff.

"Absolutely ugly," read one tweet.

Well, UMD got the message.

"We are going to listen to the fan base," said Lynne Williams, a spokeswoman for UMD. "It was a reminder to engage the community and have them be a part of the process."

The result: Ol' gray Champ will return for the 2022-23 school year, and the would-be yellow replacement will be mothballed.

Still, Champ's three-decade-old costume smells terrible, Williams said, and is beyond repair. An inclusive committee will be formed to plan another version.

The new Champ that took center stage last week drew comparisons to an "angry" Winnie the Pooh and sparked concerns that it would frighten kids with its bared teeth and furrowed brow. It even renewed simmering resentment over the removal long ago of the popular Maroon Loon companion mascot.

An online petition seeking return of the old Champ has garnered nearly 3,000 signatures and spawned the hashtag #notmychamp.

Lifelong UMD hockey fan Katie Fahlin, who has photos of her babies cradled in Champ's paws, said the school should have polled fans or convened a focus group before making such a sweeping change.

"I really thought it was a joke," she said, when she caught the social media announcement last week. "I don't know what this is, but it's not a dog. My husband is a die-hard Gophers fan, and even he's disgusted by this."

UMD, which in the past has used both gold and gray-faced Bulldog logos, has used gold exclusively on team clothing, decals and other memorabilia in the past decade.

Williams said UMD athletics officials have discussed getting a newly costumed mascot for at least a year, in hopes of phasing out the gray logo for a more consistent and recognizable look.

Also driving the change was the desire for a mascot suit with a built-in fan and other modern cooling measures to make it more comfortable for the humans wearing it.

"We had all good intentions," Williams said.

According to university archives, UMD adopted the Bulldog nickname in 1933 when it was the Duluth State Teachers College. The origins of the Bulldog mascot date back to 1959, although its rudimentary features look nothing like modern-day versions.

In the 1980s, a gray, friendly-looking plush mascot named Killer made its debut. It was redesigned in the 1990s to look more like a real bulldog, with deeper jowls and more prominent teeth.

Killer was renamed Champ in 1997, and the logo was redesigned in 1998, making this year's major mascot change the first in nearly 25 years.