The History of Buddy the Broncho

Buddy the Broncho has been a long-standing figure of The University of Central Oklahoma and is only the second mascot that UCO has had.

The Broncho name did not originally start with the school but with a letterman’s club in 1922, when head coach Charles Wantland wanted the name to be known by other schools.

Wantland’s wife, Mary Agnes, suggested the name “Bronchos,” which was soon adopted as the name for the club, and also gave Mary Agnes an honorary membership as a reward.

The Broncho name was then given to the football team along with the other sports teams at UCO, eventually becoming the official mascot.

On October 3, otherwise known as Buddy’s birthday, 1932, the first appearance of an engraved Broncho in a football jersey appeared in The Vista, but that’s all we see of him until 1978.

In 1961, “Charley Horse, the bloodthirsty Broncho” appeared in a picture published in the Edmond Booster. He was a creation of the college art department and the Phi Lambda Nu fraternity to make appearances at athletic events.

In 1978, UCO was known as Central State University, and the Central Art Department’s instructors designed a wearable horse head for that year’s Homecoming. Marking it the first public appearance of “Buddy the Broncho”.

The name was voted on by students and staff alike, and was first used in the 1979 “Bronze book,” which is a yearbook that UCO annually published until 2003.

The spelling of Broncho was actually up for debate in 1999 when it was proposed by university officials to drop the ‘h’ to be more conventional.

Buddy is an official member of the cheer team, and the process to try out is a challenge, with running having to run a couple of laps in the costume.

Eventually, the issue was let go as many made the argument for tradition, a comparison was made to the spelling of White Sox’s traditional spelling rather than “socks” in an Editorial published in “The Vista”.

UCO has had six names since its opening in 1890, starting with the Territorial Normal School, which was the name of the school when the first mascot, a dog named ‘Bowser Towser’, made his appearance in 1909.

All of this history can be learned in the UCO archives on the second floor of the Chambers Library, where you can talk to Diane Rice, the archives technician. “Holding a place for history, that’s what we do here”, said Rice.


Central’s Name Changes Chronology

Territorial Normal School – 1890-1904
Central State Normal School – 1904-1919
Central State Teachers College – 1919-1939
Central State College – 1939-1971
Central State University – 1971-1991
University of Central Oklahoma -1991-present