Joe Bruin

Joe & Josephine Bruin
Joe & Josephine Bruin
	Josephine and Joe Bruin in Pauley Pavilion
University	University of California, Los Angeles
Conference	Big Ten
Description	Anthropomorphic brown bear

Joe Bruin, an anthropomorphic male brown bear, is the official mascot of the University of California, Los Angeles’ athletic teams along with Josephine "Josie" Bruin, a female brown bear, who is his regular partner at UCLA sporting events and other university activities.

History

The earliest known UCLA mascot was a furry stray dog, known as Rags, that a gardener found on the campus of the Normal School in fall 1917.^[1] A brief "autobiography" of Rags was published in the Cub Californian in 1919, and he was mentioned in the Southern Campus yearbook until 1922.

While the university used different bear-related nicknames in the 1920s, it settled on "Bruins" in 1928 and began renting live bears as mascots in the 1930s. The animals would appear at all UCLA home football games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.^[2] This practice eventually stopped until students and alumni called for a new live mascot in the 1950s.^[3] A Himalayan bear cub from India nicknamed "Little Joe Bruin" was brought to Westwood before he grew too large and was transferred to a circus. "Josephine" was purchased by a group of alumni in 1961 and was kept in the backyard of the Rally Committee chairman. She was ultimately taken to the San Diego Zoo.^[2]

A costumed mascot by the name of Joe Bruin was introduced in 1963.^[4] In 1967, the first female student to take the mascot role created Josephine "Josie" Bruin and joined Joe at athletic events.^[2]

Costumes and depiction

The design for the costumed bears has changed over the years, and Joe has had at least six looks over his history. A major redesign in 1996 ushered in the latest Joe and Josephine Bruin, which the Los Angeles Times described as "brawnier."^[5]

The illustrated Bruin has been represented in many ways – from a Mickey Mouse style in the 1930s to a "smiley bear" in the 1970s.^[6] His attire has included turtleneck sweaters and basketball jerseys.^[7]

Recognition

Joe Bruin was on the final team for the Capital One Bowl National Mascot of the Year team four times: 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2010. The contest began in 2002 and was last held in 2014.^[8]

References

^ Anderson, Keith (2015-07-11). The Los Angeles State Normal School, UCLA's Forgotten Past: 1881-1919. Lulu.com. ISBN 978-1-329-31719-2.
^ ^a ^b ^c "UCLA Traditions". UCLA Alumni. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
^ "Retro Joe to modern Bruin". Daily Bruin. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
^ "Bruins' first costumed mascot finds success as UCLA professor". Daily Bruin. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
^ "UCLA Bares a Brawnier Joe Bruin : Will New Mascot Pump Up Sales or Did It Take Too Many Steroids?". Los Angeles Times. 1996-01-25. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
^ "ucla-spirit". UCLA Women's Basketball. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
^ "Brand Guidelines | Identity | Logos and Marks | Historical Logos and Marks". brand.ucla.edu. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
^ "The Annals of Mascot History". Archived from the original on 2008-10-14. Retrieved 2008-10-20.

Photo link

Retro Joe Bruin cartoon

[1] Anderson, Keith (2015-07-11). The Los Angeles State Normal School, UCLA's Forgotten Past: 1881-1919. Lulu.com. ISBN 978-1-329-31719-2.

[:0-2] "UCLA Traditions". UCLA Alumni. Retrieved 2021-12-05.

[3] "Retro Joe to modern Bruin". Daily Bruin. Retrieved 2021-12-05.

[4] "Bruins' first costumed mascot finds success as UCLA professor". Daily Bruin. Retrieved 2021-12-05.

[5] "UCLA Bares a Brawnier Joe Bruin : Will New Mascot Pump Up Sales or Did It Take Too Many Steroids?". Los Angeles Times. 1996-01-25. Retrieved 2021-12-05.

[6] "ucla-spirit". UCLA Women's Basketball. Retrieved 2021-12-05.

[7] "Brand Guidelines | Identity | Logos and Marks | Historical Logos and Marks". brand.ucla.edu. Retrieved 2021-12-05.

[8] "The Annals of Mascot History". Archived from the original on 2008-10-14. Retrieved 2008-10-20.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

v t e UCLA Bruins football
Venues	Moore Field (1919–1928) Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (1926–1981) Rose Bowl (1982–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games California USC: Victory Bell
Culture & lore	Joe Bruin "Sons of Westwood" "Mighty Bruins" Marching band 1967 "Game of the Century" 1998 Miami game
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

v t e UCLA Bruins men's basketball
Venues	Men's Gym (1932–1965) Pan-Pacific Auditorium (alternate; 1949–1959) Venice High School (1955–1956) Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (1959–1965; 2011–2012) Honda Center (2011–2012) Pauley Pavilion (1965–present)
Rivalries	Arizona Notre Dame USC (Crosstown Cup)
Culture & lore	Blue blood status Game of the Century UCLA High Post Offense Joe Bruin
People	Head coaches Retired numbers NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

v t e UCLA Bruins women's basketball
Venues	Pauley Pavilion (1974–present)
Rivalries	USC Crosstown Cup
Culture & lore	Joe & Josie Bruin Full Court Press
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
AIAW and NCAA national championships in bold; AIAW and NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

v t e UCLA Bruins men's soccer
Venues	Drake Stadium (1969–2017) Wallis Annenberg Stadium (2018–present)
Rivalries	California UC Santa Barbara
Culture & lore	Joe Bruin "Sons of Westwood" "Mighty Bruins" Longest NCAA Soccer Game
Seasons	1970 1972 1973 1974 1984 1985 1990 1994 1997 1999 2002 2006 2011 2012 2014 2015 2022
National championship seasons in bold; College Cup seasons in italics