Buccaneer: Selection of the College Mascot

When did the Buccaneers become the Buccaneers? 

When did the Buccaneer become the college mascot? 

The mascot was selected more than 35 years ago.

As of early 2017, no printed references to a date before 1983 have been found. Some think the mascot was selected in a vote by the students and employees of the college in late 1979 or early 1980 for the following reasons:

1) The college had just separated from Brewer State Junior College in Fayette, Alabama on January 1, 1979. This enabled the college to begin starting sport teams of its own. A mascot would be needed to give the team an identity.

2) An intramural women’s softball team was formed in 1979 under the leadership of Susan Thomas. It remained associated with the Tuscaloosa Park and Recreation Authority (P.A.R.A.) league for three years 1979-early 1981. Steve King then took over the team for the 1981-1982 season and the team became a member of the Alabama Junior College Conference, and the National Junior College Athletic Association.

3) With King as coach, players were selected, arrangements were made for a field for practice and to play home games. Scholarships were awarded to players and a schedule was drawn up. The college fielded a collegiate team for the 1981-1982 season. There are print references to the Lady Bucs softball team for this period.

4) The Shelton Courier student newspaper that began in 1981 often contained a sketch of the college’s mascot, the Buccaneer. The newspaper often included news of the Lady Bucs softball team.

5) Tryouts for a men’s baseball team were held in 1984, and the college fielded a team for the 1985 season. This team was known as the Buccaneers or Bucs.

(Suggestions were made for an official college mascot during the summer of 1983: students and employees voted and the winner was announced in The Monday Report newsletter on Sep 12 1983, page 2.)  Again, some references to the Buccaneer as mascot were found in publications as early as 1981. 

Through a vote of students and employees, the college mascot, the Buccaneer, was given a name on September 16 2003. The name was Captain Buckingham or Captain Buc. Shane Cook was the first student selected to wear the Captain Buc suit.