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DULUTH — Champ, the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs mascot, has a new look for his in-person appearances. Thursday afternoon on social media, the university shared a video of the former mascot suit transforming into a new one with one quick cut.
"The big dog's on campus with a fresh new look!" wrote the university on Facebook. On Twitter, the university's athletics department added, "New Year. New Style. @UMDChamp is ready to go!"
@UMDChamp, which as of this writing hasn't tweeted since 2019, was silent on the mascot's new look, but the athletics department posted a second tweet noting the suit was "designed after the UMD Standing Champ. A new era for the Bulldog."
designed after the UMD Standing Champ. A new era for the Bulldog. pic.twitter.com/SuUwmMfDCe
— UMD Athletics (@UMDBulldogs) September 1, 2022
A UMD media contact did not immediately respond to the News Tribune's request for comment on the new suit, which has been met with largely negative response on social media.
Several Twitter users noted the suit's similarity to Winnie the Pooh, sharing GIFs of the Disney cartoon. Some users ironically (but accurately) noted that the mascot used to be named Killer.
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In fact, the Bulldog mascot has taken multiple names, and forms, over the decades. As a mascot history published by the university's Kathryn A. Martin Library notes, a bulldog has been UMD's mascot since the days when the school was still the Duluth State Teachers College.
Hanging on as the school's mascot despite occasional challenges — on the basis that bulldogs aren't particularly representative of the Northland's customary iconography — the UMD Bulldog began to take its current form when a standard mascot logo debuted in the 1969-70 school year.
Killer was officially renamed to the more family-friendly Champ 25 years ago, in 1997. Nine years later, Champ lost his sometime partner the Maroon Loon, though memories of that supporting mascot continue to resurface.
"Bring back the Maroon Loon," wrote Facebook user Derek Iverson, commenting on the video of Champ's transformation.
Another user, Brian Den, replied: "Leave Winnie the Pooh alone."
Fans were primed to watch — with either excitement or trepidation — for the new Champ to make his public debut at Thursday night's football home opener against Southwest Minnesota State.
