SUNY Chancellor King Kicks Off SUNY’s Annual Mascot Madness Tournament
March 10, 2026
SUNY-Wide Competition Encourages Students, Alumni, and all New Yorkers to Vote on Favorite Campus Mascots
To Watch the Special SUNY Sports Center Segment on Mascot Madness Click Here
Albany, NY – State University of New York Chancellor John B. King Jr. today kicked off this year's SUNY Mascot Madness competition. The annual competition is an opportunity for communities around the state to rally around local SUNY campuses and encourage New Yorkers to vote for their preferred mascot to win the esteemed Mascot Madness trophy and the title of the SUNY Mascot Ambassador. The 2026 SUNY Mascot Madness tournament features 38 competitors and voting runs from Tuesday, March 10, at 12:00 PM, until Thursday, April 2, at 2:00 PM.
"New Yorkers know that when it's March, it is time to get serious about filling out their SUNY Mascot Madness bracket," said SUNY Chancellor King. "Voting in the healthy competition between SUNY campuses throughout the state on who will win the Mascot Madness Trophy is a great way for students, alumni, and all New Yorkers to show their SUNY pride. I am excited to kick off this year's competition, see our mascots get creative to win over fans, and watch our communities join in on the fun."
The SUNY Board of Trustees said, "Every year during the Mascot Madness competition we are thrilled to see our campuses think outside of the box to promote their mascots and showcase their school spirit. We wish all 38 of this year's Mascot Madness competitors good luck and look forward to watching communities throughout the state showcase their excitement for this fun event."
Now in its thirteenth year, SUNY Mascot Madness is a statewide event that offers SUNY campuses and their surrounding communities an opportunity to showcase school pride and come up with innovative ways to win over votes. In 2025, 35 SUNY mascots were featured in the month-long competition that drew more than 330,000 votes throughout all the rounds, with the State University of New York at Albany's Damien the Great Dane winning the championship trophy for the first time. The annual competition is part of SUNY's ongoing efforts to help showcase the great sports programs and student experience available on campuses throughout New York State.
SUNY offers athletic opportunities for students at all levels of competition at 56 campuses. Statewide, SUNY has over 85 NCAA Division I, 290 NCAA Division III, and 385 NJCAA athletic teams, as well as hundreds of non-competitive athletic clubs. SUNY also has one of the oldest small college athletic conferences in the United States, the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC), consisting of 10 full members and 10 associate members competing in the conference. In January, Chancellor King attended a basketball game between the State University of New York at Albany and the State University of New York at Binghamton to help promote the healthy rivalry and showcase the exciting sports games available for New Yorkers to attend and enjoy.
To learn more about SUNY athletics and find a SUNY sporting event near you, please visit: https://www.suny.edu/attend/athletics/.
About the State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state's only college of optometry, 12 Educational Opportunity Centers, over 30 ATTAIN digital literacy labs, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.7 million students across its portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.5 billion in fiscal year 2025, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and annually one in three New Yorkers who earn a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit suny.edu.
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Holly Liapis
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