College football is unique for several reasons, chief among them the pageantry and pride shown for programs by alumni and fans alike. No amount of pageantry would be complete without the role of mascots.
There are over 134 different teams in FBS, with as many varied and different backgrounds as there are teams. Uniquely, Georgia Tech is the only school represented by the Yellow Jacket. How did the Georgia Tech mascot come to be, and in what ways does the history help tell the story that the Yellow Jackets now represent?
Who (or What) is the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Mascot?
Founded in 1885, Georgia Tech opened its doors as the Georgia School of Technology and welcomed 84 students upon opening. In 1948, the school went from Georgia School of Technology to the Georgia Institute of Technology and has remained as Georgia Tech ever since.
The early years of the school hold little information on any official mascot. The athletic teams were referred to as the “Golden Tornados” or simply “Tech” before the emergence of the yellow jacket around the 1920s.
The emergence of the moniker came about as students began wearing yellow jackets to football games as a way of symbolizing the school colors of old gold and white. The term “Yellow Jackets” was used informally and then popularized by local Atlanta sportswriters into the 1930s
Before officially becoming the mascot, Georgia Tech used a dog named Sideways as a live mascot. Sideways was a terrier mix who lived on campus from 1945 to 1947 and was named in part because of the peculiar way he would run down the field. While never officially adopted as the Yellow Jackets mascot, he was a beloved representation on campus.
Why is Georgia Tech the Yellow Jackets?
With the yellow jacket moniker taking off, the first costumed mascot appeared for Georgia Tech in 1972 but did not resemble the current view of “Buzz’ that many know and love today. It was described as looking more like a mosquito at points and was redesigned in a significant manner in 1979.
While the redesigned version of the mascot was initially nameless, the adoption of the name “Buzz” quickly became the broadly accepted name along with a more cartoonish yellow jacket character. The name became official several years later, in 1980.
Several versions of Buzz have existed throughout the years, with the current version coming to be in 2002. Buzz is one of the more recognized mascots in the country and was inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame in 2008. He also became a National Champion in 2023 after competing in the National Cheerleading Association’s Mascot Division.
While Buzz represents the mascot on the field and as part of the GT cheer team, the Wreck or Reck, an original Ford Model A Sport Coupe, is the mechanical mascot for the elite engineering institute.
Turning 94 years old in 2024, the vehicle still drives around campus and leads the football team onto the field before every home game. Initially built in 1930 as part of roughly 4.9 million Model As produced from 1927 to 1932, it is a representation of a staggering and unprecedented volume of vehicles produced, roughly one for every two minutes.
The car became a representation after a professor drove a 1914 Model T to campus despite major deterioration. Students began to call it a Ramblin Wreck, and after Professor Field traded his car in for a newer model a race was started and the moniker stuck, continuing a tradition of students repairing diminished vehicles as a way of using their engineering prowess.
Whether in Yellow Jackets or a Ramblin Wreck, the Georgia Tech contingent has made a name for themselves with a unique name and representation of the prestigious institution known for its engineering prowess.
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