The Worst College Sports Mascots Of All Time

The State University of New York, or SUNY, is a vast network of 64 schools, colleges, and research institutions, some of which get pretty specific in their mission — particularly SUNY ESF, or the College of Environmental Science and Forestry, which claims to be the United States' oldest and most respected school for environmental studies. Any study of that subject is necessarily going to involve trees, and SUNY ESF's mascot goes all in on that concept. 

According to The Daily Orange, a grand old Robin Hood Oak tree grows on and looms over the campus of SUNY ESF. In deference to this iconic part of school lore and campus life, the institution adopted the name Mighty Oaks for its athletic teams in 2009. A year later, realizing they needed some kind of creature-type mascot to attend games and get crowds excited, SUNY ESF devised and unveiled Oakie the Acorn, a personified version of the compact little nuts produced by oak trees. Oakie, a huge acorn with arms, legs, and a naturally occurring cap, wears a permanent, toothy grin.

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