CAM the Ram

University	Colorado State University
Conference	MWC
Origin of name	contest
First seen	1947

CAM the Ram is the mascot of Colorado State University.^[1] There is the live mascot whose origins date back to a competition held in 1946 to name the new face of the university. The winner was an alumnus who created the acronym CAM from the schools name at the time, Colorado Agricultural and Mechanical College.^[1]^[2] CAM's most notable appearance is during home football games. CAM runs across the endzone during home football games after a touchdown. Then there is the costumed mascot as so named, CAM the Ram. The costumed CAM was revamped in 2010, and appears at the majority of sporting events.

Live mascot

CAM has been played by a total of 26 different Rambouillet sheep over the years since the mascot's first appearance in 1947. CAM 22 made over 250 appearances and was retired in 2010 at the age of seven when CAM 23 took his place.^[3] CAM 24 died on September 19, 2015, the day of the 2015 Rocky Mountain Showdown^[4] leaving CAM 25 to take his place. CAM 25 is CAM 24's half-brother and was 6 months old at the time. CAM 25 was retired due to age in 2020, and the current CAM (CAM 26) is now the active mascot. ^[5]

Cam has been a steady spirit booster ever since he arrived on campus. He makes trips around the state in a temperature-controlled 35 foot trailer. The Alumni Association supports CAM and manages the Ram Handlers program. Cam happily lives at an off campus livestock boarding facility with other farm animals and even his successor.

Ram handlers

Cam is taken care of by nineteen handlers who participate in CAM's training and care, transportation to events, sharing CAM's story with Rams fans of all ages, and traditions such as his sprint across the end zone during home football games. The Alumni Association encourages students from any and all majors and backgrounds to apply to join the group. A Ram Handlers Mission is to actively promote CSU through working with CAM the Ram and will engage with University constituents, model the Principles of Community, and uphold the tradition of CAM the Ram.^[6]

Costumed mascot

There is also a costumed, two legged CAM the Ram whose first appearances date back to the early 1980s. The newest version was unveiled in October 2010.^[7] During this 2010 revamp, he lost his cartoonish characteristics and began to look like a real ram. He now wears No. 70 on his jerseys, to signify the year that the university was established, 1870.^[8] CAM can be seen on all types of Colorado State University merchandise and can even be seen as a stuffed animal in the stores on campus. The costume CAM can be seen at majority of home sporting events as well as out in the community.

References

^ ^a ^b "CAM the Ram". CSURams.com. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved February 27, 2011.
^ "The sweet life of CAM the ram". Colorado State University. February 2010. Retrieved February 27, 2011.
^ Allison Welter (May 2, 2010). "CAM to retire within year". The Rocky Mountain Collegian. Retrieved February 27, 2011.
^ "CAM the Ram dies day of Showdown". Coloradoan. USA Today Network. September 19, 2015. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
^ "Beloved mascot CAM the Ram dies at age 6". September 21, 2015.
^ "CAM the Ram – Alumni". Retrieved April 9, 2020.
^ Joel Hafnor (October 15, 2010). "Colorado State hopeful in Homecoming". The Rocky Mountain Collegian. Retrieved February 27, 2011.
^ "CSU unveils new CAM the Ram costume". Colorado State University Athletics. Retrieved April 10, 2020.

v t e Colorado State Rams men's basketball
Venues	South College Gymnasium (1926–1966) Moby Arena (1966–present)
Rivalries	Wyoming
Culture & lore	CAM the Ram
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 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

v t e Colorado State Rams football
Venues	Durkee Field (1899–1911) Colorado Field (1912–1967) Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium (1968–2016) Canvas Stadium (2017–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Air Force (Ram–Falcon Trophy) Colorado: Rocky Mountain Showdown Wyoming: Border War
Culture & lore	CAM the Ram Fight Song Marching Band
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders School records Consensus All-Americans Hall of Fame inductees
Seasons	1892 1893 1894 1895–1898 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 Mascots of the Mountain West Conference
Full members	The Bird (Air Force) Buster Bronco (Boise State) CAM the Ram (Colorado State) Timeout & Victor E. Bulldog (Fresno State) Alphie (Nevada) Lobo Louie and Lucy (New Mexico) Aztec Warrior (San Diego State) Sammy Spartan (San Jose State) Hey Reb! (UNLV) Big Blue (Utah State) Pistol Pete, Cowboy Joe (Wyoming)
Affiliate members	Vili The Warrior (Hawaiʻi) (football)

v t e Live animal mascots in college sports
The American	TOM (Memphis) Peruna (SMU) Stella (Temple)
ACC	Osceola and Renegade (Florida State) Tuffy (NC State) Rameses (North Carolina)
Big 12	Judge (Baylor) Shasta (Houston) Boomer and Sooner (Oklahoma) Bullet (Oklahoma State) Bevo (Texas) The Masked Rider (Texas Tech)
Big East	Butler Blue (Butler) Jack the Bulldog (Georgetown) Jonathan (UConn)
Conference USA	Tech (Louisiana Tech)
Ivy League	Handsome Dan (Yale)
Mountain West	Aurora (Air Force) CAM the Ram (Colorado State)
MVFC	Racer One (Murray State)
Pac-12	Ralphie the Buffalo (Colorado) Traveler (USC) Dubs (Washington)
Patriot League	Army Mules (Army) Bill the Goat (Navy)
SEC	Tusk (Arkansas) War Eagle (Auburn) Uga (Georgia) Blue (Kentucky) Mike the Tiger (LSU) Bully (Mississippi State) Sir Big Spur (South Carolina) Smokey (Tennessee) Reveille (Texas A&M)