Osceola and Renegade
Osceola and Renegade debuted at a September 16, 1978 game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys. They proved quite popular, and subsequently other faux-Indian traditions arose, including the "War Chant" in 1984 and the "Tomahawk Chop" shortly after. Durham oversaw the Osceola tradition for 25 years, and over time aspects of the performance have become more refined and regulated. In 2002, Durham retired and passed his role on to his son Allen Durham, a former Osceola portrayer.
In the 1980s and 1990s, when mascots based on Native Americans became more controversial and many Native Americans and supporters protested their use, Florida State consulted with the Seminole Tribe of Florida, emphasizing that Osceola was never intended to be demeaning. Several representatives of the Seminole Tribe, including Chairman James E. Billie and Council Member Max Osceola, have given FSU their blessing to use Osceola and Seminole imagery. However, the matter remains controversial for other Florida Seminoles, as well as members of the Seminole Tribe of Oklahoma. Critics have noted a political undercurrent in the support from Florida Seminole leaders, who are heavily involved in business ventures such as Indian casinos in the state. In 2005, the NCAA added FSU to a list of schools facing potential sanctions for using "hostile and abusive" Indian mascots and names; after much deliberation, the NCAA gave FSU an exemption, citing the university's relationship with the Seminole Tribe of Florida as a major factor.
Pounce (mascot)
Georgia State University has had multiple names and mascots (under its various names), beginning with an Owl in 1940 when the school was Georgia Evening College (due to it being a night school). In 1947, the school would, for no apparent reason, change the athletics teams' names to the Ramblers. This would again change in 1955 to the Panthers, however at that time no mascot existed for the school. Claws the Panther, the first personified blue panther, was created in the early 1980s to support the GSU basketball team. Both the school's student newspaper, the Signal, and the yearbook, The Cauldron, identified the mascot as being played by Jay Black who would later become a professor at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. In 1989, Urbie, a crimson panther was created, but would only remain until 1993 when a new mascot, Pounce, was unveiled. The original Pounce was a cartoonish, muscular blue panther with yellow eyes, a red nose and four fingers on each hand with yellow claws on each. This remained the university's mascot with slight variations (including more ferocious facial gestures) up until 2009. As the university unveiled its new football team, it also unveiled a new Pounce, complete with a sleeker design. This is the current mascot in use.