What is Indiana's mascot? What is a Hoosier? What to know about IU branding

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When Lee Corso returned to Bloomington for the first time as ESPN "College GameDay" analyst and extraordinary picker, he didn't have a famed mascot headgear to wear.

That changed this Indiana football season as the athletic department debuted Hoosier the Bison at the season's first game. Sure, it was a little too late for another extraordinary Corso moment after he retired following this season's first week.

But this is the moment Hoosier was revived for: increased brand awareness with a captive TV audience with ESPN's college football pregame show on the sports biggest stage — the College Football Playoff. The unbeaten Hoosiers (13-0) put their No. 1 seed on the line against No. 9 Alabama (11-3) at 4 p.m. Thursday at the Rose Bowl.

For many, it is the first look at the Hoosiers' newest icon. So here are a few things to know about the mascot.

What is Indiana's mascot?

Indiana's mascot is Hoosier the Bison, which debuted Aug. 30, 2025.

Why does Indiana use a bison as its mascot?

The Buffalo Trace trail, not the bourbon, runs through southern Indiana. It stretches from Vincennes to the west and weaves through Floyd County and into Louisville. The 2,000-pound beasts once roamed this stretch of the Hoosier State.

What is a Hoosier? Hoosier meaning

A Hoosier simply refers to an Indiana resident.

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How did Indiana University get the nickname Hoosiers?

The school's nickname became the Hoosiers in 1923, when the program called its football team the Scrapping Hoosiers.

How did people from Indiana become the Hoosiers?

There are many theories as to how the Hoosiers got there name. Here are a few:

The nickname "implied a frontier roughness just beyond the most recently settled and civilized regions," according to Indiana Historical Society.
Legend has it that Richmond man John Finley wrote "The Hoosier's Nest," a poem that was printed in the Indianapolis Journal on Jan. 1, 1833, according to the Indiana Historical Bureau. A few days later a toast at Jackson Day dinner in Indianapolis, John W. Davis' toast was "The Hoosher State of Indiana," per IHB which recognized earlier writings of the term.
IHB also said that when a settler would have a visitor, the resident would ask, "Who's yere?" Which sounds like "Hoosier."
Another theory on IHB was Indiana rivermen became known as "hushers," and eventually Hoosiers, because of their success in "hushing" or trouncing their adversaries.
"Hoosier's men" were contracted to work on the Louisville and Portland Canal instead of those from elsewhere, thus being shortened to Hoosiers, per IHB.
And, IHB said, Gov. Joseph Wright derived the term from the Indiana word for corn, "hoosa."

Whichever you choose to roll with, know that the Hoosiers have a long history with bison, too.

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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: What is Indiana's mascot? What's a Hoosier? Why does IU have bison mascot?

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