You see it at every game. You see it on posters. You see it on t-shirts and hoodies. The Badger  has been with JSC for many years and is now forever tied to the college.

But how did the badger become The Badger? How did a furry little mammal that is not even native to Vermont come to represent Johnson State College?

To answer these questions, we need to take a trip back in time, to the 1960s.

Ah, the 60s – when psychedelic rock blared from every radio and the Johnson State Professors were kicking some serious butt on the playing field.

Wait what? Did you just say the JSC Professors?

Yes I did.

The title of “The Professors” is credited to English teacher and public relations representative Edward O’Gara, who would refer to JSC teams as such while relaying scores to newspaper officials. The name stuck, and The Professors was born.

However, many members of the student body outright rejected a name that had any academic connotations. In for the rescue stepped Coach Walter Minaert, the founder of the inaugural athletic association at JSC.

Minaert and his coworkers began to brainstorm a way to give Johnson athletics an official name and mascot. They decided to sponsor a contest to choose a new name. After it was over, “The Indians” were chosen. However, in the state next door, Dartmouth College already had “The Indians.” Thus, Johnson athletics became known as The Little Indians, while Dartmouth had The Big Indians.

The Little Indians stuck well into the 1980’s. Towards the end of the decade, in 88 or 89, schools across the country were reconsidering mascots that could be offensive. Dartmouth had already scrapped the Indian, and Athletic Director Peter Albright decided to get ahead of the controversy. He and President Eric Gilbertson decided to hold another contest for the new name.
The Badger just happened to be nominated.

Albright ran the name past Professor of Biology Bob Genter who reportedly told him the badger  was indeed a “tough, surly, combative, little bugger.”

A vote was then held in the dining hall, where, with some possible ballot stuffing by the Men’s Soccer team, the Badger won. The athletic department then took the Wisconsin Badger’s logo, slapped a ‘J’ on its chest and went from there.

“I think the mascot is a great representative of our underdog little school,” Albright said. “Not afraid of anyone, tough and resilient.”

To celebrate, President Gilbertson himself paid the $800 for the wooden badger statue that lived inside the SHAPE building for many years. That same statue has been outside SHAPE for the past four years and recently underwent some repairs due to rot.

And that is how a furry little omnivore came to represent a small state college in Vermont.