{
  "id": 8454217,
  "title": "Owls and Bulldogs were a bust. How Arizona State became the Sun Devils",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/19/owls-and-bulldogs-were-a-bust-how-arizona-state-became-the-sun-devils",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-19T12:01:31.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/owls-bulldogs-were-bust-arizona-120131385.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Arizona State University's mascot has undergone several transformations over the years, but one thing has remained constant – the unwavering pride of its students and alumni for the Sun Devil. In 1889, when the school was known as Tempe Normal School, students chose the Owl as the mascot. However, after the school became Arizona State Teachers College in 1893, the mascot changed to the Bulldog. It wasn't until 1946 that the student body voted in favor of changing the mascot once again, this time to the Sun Devil. The origin of the name comes from a story told by the school, where track coach Donn Kinzle saw a dust devil along the Salt River bed and thought of the Sun Devil. The first Sun Devil team was the basketball team, which played against the Mesa Jaycees in 1946. Sparky, a cartoon creation of Berk Anthony, became the official Sun Devil logo in 1946. Initially, Sparky was depicted as a human face, but in 1951, a masked version of the mascot appeared. In the 1970s, Sparky underwent a few changes, but some religious alumni objected to the new look, fearing it resembled Satan. A decade later, the university attempted to make Sparky more cartoonish, but the proposal sparked a petition, and the university backed down. Despite the changes, Arizona State students and alumni have remained committed to the Sun Devil mascot, with no one the reporter has met questioning their pride in being a Sun Devil.",
  "summary": "Before becoming the Sun Devils, Arizona State tried out other mascots. Learn the history of Sparky and the Disney connection.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "Arizona volleyball finds winning combination in reverse sweep of San Diego State",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/19/arizona-volleyball-finds-winning-combination-in-reverse-sweep-of-san",
        "published": "2026-09-19T06:45:39.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}