Iowa Almanac
Iowa Almanac -- Wednesday, October 16, 2024
Sy takes the field. More from the Iowa-Almanac in a moment. Election Day is Tuesday, November 5th. Now is the time to make a plan. Whether you plan to vote absentee by mail, in-person at your county auditor's office before Election Day, or at your polling place on November 5th, it's important you take steps now to make your plan at voterready.iowa.gov. Remember, Election Day is Tuesday, November 5th. Find more information at voterready.iowa.gov. This message presented by the Iowa Secretary of State. The Iowa State Athletic Teams have been known as the Cyclones since 1895. That's when the Chicago Tribune said the Northwestern football team had been struck by a cyclone when the team from Ames came to town and the name stuck. But it's hard to have a cyclone as a mascot. After all, what costume would you come up with? So in 1954, members of Iowa State's PEP Council decided the university needed a mascot. They decided on a cardinal, since the school colors are cardinal and gold. A contest was held to name the new mascot and 17 people submitted the name Si, short for cyclone. Si the Cardinal made his debut at homecoming on October 16th, 1954. That first Si was 8 feet tall and the costume cost $200 to create. A slightly more agile version of the mascot, named Clone, debuted in 1989. Si and Clone both served for a number of years, before being merged in 1995 into the Si who prowls the sidelines on game day today. Si the Cardinal won a national mascot of the year contest in 2008, but he made his debut at homecoming on this day in 1954. And that's Iowa Almanac for October 16th. Follow us on Twitter @IowaAlmanac. Until tomorrow, I'm Jeff Stein.