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Sunday, November 20, 2005

Mascot history =)

UCLA's first mascot, a dog named Rags, appeared in 1919. The next year, the name Cubs was adopted when UCLA broke off from Cal Berkeley. Why Cubs? The name was an appropriate younger version of Cal's Bears. Then, in 1923, under Coach Jimmie Cline's direction, the nickname changed to Grizzlies.

In 1928, UCLA joined the Pacific Coast Conference, and discovered University of Montana was already known as the Grizzlies; and UCLA's nickname changed to the Bruins. Why Bruins? The name came as an offer from Cal Berkeley, who was known at the time as both the Bears and the Bruins. Today, Joe and Josie stand as the official Bruins mascots of UCLA.