Big Jay
University	University of Kansas
Conference	Big 12
Description	Larger Jayhawk costume
First seen	1960s
Related mascot(s)	Baby Jay

Big Jay is one of the costume mascots of the Kansas Jayhawks.^[1] Together, Big Jay and Baby Jay are Jayhawks and are the mascots used by the University of Kansas.^[1] Another mascot named Centennial Jay was temporarily used in 2012.^[2]^[3]

History

The original mascot for the Kansas Jayhawks was a bulldog. In 1912, the Jayhawk was first seen in a cartoon by Henry Maloy in The University Daily Kansan. ^[4]

In November 1958, the Jayhawk became the official mascot for Kansas University. ^[5] The "Jayhawk" idea came from the combination of a blue jay and a sparrow hawk. ^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b "The Mascots". KU.edu. University of Kansas. Archived from the original on April 4, 2018. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
^ "Retro Centennial Jay Helps Celebrate 100 Mascot Years". Lawrence Journal-World. Ogden Newspapers. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
^ "Top 25 Great College Football Mascots: More than Just Oversized Heads". Retrieved March 22, 2014.
^ ^a ^b Peterson | @CarlosWritesKU, Carlos (March 7, 2019). "The history of Big Jay and the birth of Baby Jay". The University Daily Kansan. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
^ "Mascots · 100 Years of the Jayhawk · KU Libraries Exhibits". exhibits.lib.ku.edu. Retrieved October 4, 2023.

v t e Kansas Jayhawks football
Venues	McCook Field (1892–1920) David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium (1921–2023, 2025–future) Arrowhead Stadium (2024) Children's Mercy Park (2024)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Kansas State: Sunflower Showdown Missouri: Border War Nebraska
Culture & lore	Big Jay Baby Jay "I'm a Jayhawk" Marching Jayhawks Aggieville riots Timeline of football in Kansas First game in Kansas 1911 Missouri game
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

v t e Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball
Venues	Robinson Gymnasium (1907–1927) Hoch Auditorium (1927–1955) Allen Fieldhouse (1955–present)
Rivalries	Kansas State (results) Missouri
Culture & lore	Big Jay Baby Jay Blue blood status Champions Classic "Rock Chalk, Jayhawk" Jayhawkers
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
Helms and NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

v t e Kansas Jayhawks women's basketball
Venues	Allen Fieldhouse (1968–present)
Rivalries	Kansas State Missouri (dormant)
Culture & lore	Big Jay Baby Jay "Rock Chalk, Jayhawk"
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24

Mascots of the Big 12 Conference

Current mascots

Bruiser and Marigold (Baylor)
Cosmo the Cougar (BYU)
The Bearcat (Cincinnati)
Shasta (Houston)
Cy the Cardinal (Iowa State)
Big Jay / Baby Jay (Kansas)
Willie the Wildcat (Kansas State)
Sooner Schooner / Boomer and Sooner (Oklahoma)
Pistol Pete / Bullet (Oklahoma State)
Bevo / Hook 'em (Texas)
Super Frog (TCU)
The Masked Rider / Raider Red (Texas Tech)
Knightro (UCF)
Mountaineer (West Virginia)

University of Kansas

Academics

Schools	School of Law School of Business School of Engineering School of Medicine School of Architecture and Design
Locations	Lawrence (primary) Edwards Campus in Overland Park Kansas City, Wichita, and Salina University of Kansas Health System affiliate
People	Notable alumni and faculty
Misc.	Carrie Center for International Political Analysis Coal City Review Kansas Geological Survey Studio 804 University Press of Kansas

Athletics

Teams	Baseball Men's basketball Women's basketball Football Crew Team
Mascots	Big Jay Baby Jay
Facilities	Allen Fieldhouse David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium Hoglund Ballpark
Misc.	Rock Chalk, Jayhawk Border War Sunflower Showdown

Campus

Student life

Broadcasting

History

History of the University of Kansas

Established: 1865

History

See also

References