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2021 NCAA Tournament well represented by canine mascots

By Wesley Coburn

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 21: A general view of the March Madness logo on center court is seen before the game between the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles and the Florida Gators in the second round game of the 2021 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Indiana Farmers Coliseum on March 21, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 21: A general view of the March Madness logo on center court is seen before the game between the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles and the Florida Gators in the second round game of the 2021 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Indiana Farmers Coliseum on March 21, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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The 2021 NCAA Tournament is well-represented by canine mascots, as well as feline mascots.

But like everything else in college sports and the world in general over the past year, things look a little different as teams mostly played the 2020-21 season without fans in empty gyms filled with cardboard cutouts as they tried to patch together something like a full schedule.

And after not having an NCAA Tournament at all in 2020, the 2021 NCAA Tournament will be played more or less in contained bubbles – the men in Indiana (mostly Indianapolis), the women in Texas (mostly San Antonio).

If a team from a multiple-bid conference has to withdraw before the tournament starts, they will be replaced by a predetermined order of the last teams to be cut; if a conference’s only representative has to drop out before play begins, the conference can choose their replacement team.

If a team has to drop out due to COVID once the tournament begins, then they forfeit their next game and their opponents automatically advance, in order to keep things on schedule. This happened in the first round as the VCU Rams were forced to forfeit, as the Oregon Ducks advanced instead.

The 2021 NCAA Tournament is well-represented by canine mascots.

All winter sports, including men’s and women’s basketball and men and women’s hockey, were canceled in Division III this year due to the pandemic, while the Division II 2021 NCAA Tournament were shrank from 64-team fields to 48-team fields because not all conferences were playing.

On the men’s side, which started on Friday, March 19, the canine mascots of the 2021 NCAA Tournament include the Drake and Gonzaga Bulldogs, UConn Huskies, Georgetown Hoyas (who have a Bulldog mascot), Loyola Chicago Ramblers (who have a Husky logo).

Vet schools include Florida, Illinois, Michigan State, Oklahoma State, Ohio State, Oregon State,  Purdue, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin.

Feline mascots include the Clemson, LSU, Missouri and Texas Southern Tigers, BYU and Houston Cougars, Ohio Bobcats, Abilene Christian and Villanova Wildcats

On the women’s side, which started on Sunday, March 21, there are the Georgia and Gonzaga Bulldogs, UConn Huskies, North Carolina State Wolfpack, South Dakota Coyotes and Marist Red Foxes.

Vet schools include Michigan State, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, and Texas A&M.

Feline mascots include the BYU and Washington State Cougars, Arizona, Kentucky and Northwestern Wildcats, Jackson State Tigers and Idaho State Bengals.

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Good luck to all the canine mascots, feline mascots and vet schools playing during March Madness! For more tournament coverage, see our FanSided Network sister sites Busting Brackets and High Post Hoops for all the latest scores, updates and breakdowns.

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