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History of the UCI Mascot (Zot)

It hung from banners down the sides of buildings

It appeared on buttons, bumper stickers and decals

It was etched in a hillside overlooking the campus...

The year was 1965, a year marked by national political upheaval, war protests ... and a brand new University of California campus had opened in Irvine. Rising from the middle of the green fields that once sustained the buffalo herds of rancher, James Irvine, was UCI, a campus soon to become distinctive for its high quality of research programs, faculty and academics.

But something was missing: The new school lacked a mascot. The Administration decided to let the students choose the animal that would represent UCI. Students were encouraged to submit their candidates, and the favorites would then be voted on in a campus-wide election.

A student named Schuyler Hadley Basset III was concerned with the choice of the mascot. He wasn't too thrilled with the proposed Roadrunner, Unicorn, or Golden Bison as UCI's mascot. Schuyler and his buddies desired something unique, nontraditional... something slightly radical. Then someone mentioned the *** anteater ***. It was perfect! Inspired by the popular Johnny Hart syndicated comic strip, "B.C.," the Anteater had all the makings of an ideal mascot for the infant university. It was original and slightly irreverent. Schuyler immediately got on the ball. In a one-man political campaign, Basset employed all his promotional skills and energy on a crusade to elect the Anteater. He blitzed the campus with pro-anteater literature and created the anteater logo (seen above) that is still seen on anteater souvenirs to this day.

As fate would have it, a water polo game against San Luis Obispo took place just before the mascot election. It was the first athletic event on the new campus and 900 of the 1,500 enrolled students attended. The anteater-inspired water polo players brought their own cheerleaders, who passed roll-out party favors to the crowd and yelled "Give `em a tongue!" Shortly thereafter, students voted 56 percent to adopt the anteater.

Source: Santa Ana Register, September 5, 1977

The newer Anteater symbol is displayed as a 430-pound bronze statue in the plaza area of the Bren Events Center and was a gift from the class of 1987. The statue was created by New Mexico artist Bill Fitzgerald, who also designed the Bruin Bear at UCLA.