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Colorado to retire live Buffalo mascot, continue tradition with Ralphie IV
By Dave Holcomb
Published:
The Colorado athletic department announced Tuesday that it has “officially retired” its live buffalo mascot, who is nicknamed Ralphie V, after 12 seasons.
Ralphie V turned 13 in October, but actually, performance issues, and not age, are the source of her retirement. From CUBuffs.com:
As the season progressed, she just wasn’t having the consistency she had displayed in prior years. With past Ralphies, as they aged, their speed typically decreased; with Ralphie V, she has been so excited to run that she was actually running too fast, which created safety concerns for her and her handlers. She also wasn’t consistently responding to cues from her handlers, and her temperament was such that she was held back from leading the team out for CU’s last two home games against USC and Stanford.
Colorado says Ralphie V will continue to live on her ranch alongside her companion buffalo. She will continue to make public appearances until her replacement — Ralphie VI — is hired.
“Ralphie V had an outstanding career as the face and symbol of our great university and athletic department,” said Ralphie Program Manager John Graves, who is one of her former handlers.
This is the 53rd season of the live buffalo in Colorado football history. The five Ralphies have led the team on the field 651 times. During the last 53 years, a live buffalo has not led the team onto the field just 13 times.