One of the most famous pregame traditions in college football is going to have a new star at the center of the spectacle this season.
Or, to be more specific, a new buffalo.
Colorado’s live buffalo mascot, Ralphie VI, will be retiring after four years of service in the role, the university announced on Tuesday, Aug. 26.
The school made the move due to what it described as “an indifference to running, typical of many mammals both four-legged and two-legged.” Because of that, the university will be transitioning the buffalo, which is nicknamed “Ember,” to a “companion buffalo role” on a ranch, where she will live with her predecessor, Ralphie V.
There, Ember will be able to “focus on relaxing strolls on the pasture, which is her favorite hobby.”
“Ember has been excellent in many aspects of her role as Ralphie, but she’s happiest relaxing on the ranch and we want to be respectful of her wishes,” Taylor Stratton, the director of the Ralphie Live Mascot Program, said in a statement. “She will continue to get the same top level of love and care that all of our Ralphies receive and will enjoy socializing with Ralphie V.”
A succession plan has been in place for “a number of months,” though information on Ralphie VII hasn’t yet been revealed. There’s no timetable for Ralphie VII’s debut, meaning coach Deion Sanders and his team will be taking the field without a live buffalo mascot ahead of their Aug. 29 game against Georgia Tech.
Colorado has had a live buffalo mascot since the debut of Ralphie I in 1967. Along with a group of handlers, the buffalo mascot would run on the field before games. Ralphie VI served the shortest stint of any of the buffaloes and had been criticized online for her slow, leisurely pace running out on the field, perhaps most notably before the Buffaloes’ loss to BYU in the Alamo Bowl last year.
Colorado is coming off a 9-4 finish in 2024 and will look to replace the production of Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and record-setting quarterback Shedeur Sanders, both of whom are now in the NFL.
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