Griff III: Drake’s newest dog

When it comes to college mascots I consider myself lucky. I will always be a proud Greenfield Tiger, but for obvious reasons we never had a “live” mascot. You just don’t turn a Bengal loose at halftime of a football game, let alone in a packed gymnasium.

When I graduated from Greenfield High I enrolled at Drake University in Des Moines. Although the school had a live Bulldog on and off over the years, we didn’t have one during my time at Drake—just the variety dressed up in a furry suit and standing on two legs. To this day “Spike” attends all the Drake sporting events and is a crowd favorite.

For graduate school I attended the University of Colorado in Boulder. For decades the school has had a real live buffalo fire up fans at football games, the current bison going by the name Ralphie VII. For whatever reason, it is a tradition to use Roman numerals to mark the progression of live mascots at schools. Maybe it has something to do with the Roman gladiators, mascots leading their teams into a version of the Colosseum to do battle with the opponent!

Drake’s live mascot was in the news last week. The school announced that Griff II, a very good boy, would be retiring at the end of the school year. For me the announcement brought back memories of one of the highest honors of my life. I had the chance to write the biography of Griff I, now referred to affectionately as the OG, short for the Original Griff. I always explain, Griff told me his story and I just wrote it down in Griff: My Life as Drake’s Top Dog.

As Drake’s first “official” live mascot, the OG retired in 2020 after five years on the job. That job meant so much more than just attending sporting events. Griff was a therapy dog, visiting countless schools and senior centers. He conducted an annual food drive so pet owners could keep their furry friends in their homes. Along the way he was the ace in the hole when it came to recruiting students. It was not unusual to hear students (and their parents) say the reason they chose to come to Drake was because of Griff! After all, Griff had his own business cards that said “I’m kind of a big deal.”

Once the OG retired Griff II stepped up to assume the role as Drake’s live mascot. Now in his sixth year he has carried on the proud tradition established by the OG. Griff II will retire in May and at that time the school will have a “Changing of the Harness.” After that Griff II will be able to kick back and enjoy the good life at home—the home he will share with Griff III.

The little Bulldog is still a pup at nine months old and at this point is a Griff-in-Training, “job shadowing” his predecessor. He comes to Drake from the same family as Griff II. To say the pup is adorable, decked out in his very own Drake blue sweater, would be an understatement. To welcome him to the pack the school held a private event for faculty, staff and students. And then the pup gave an interview at a men’s basketball game. I’m assuming he had some help from Erin Bell, who is his mom and the Director of the Live Mascot program at Drake.

So Drake has a new dog on the block. I am confident that Griff III will be the perfect pooch to represent my alma mater. And when he retires many years down the road there will certainly be a new dog in town to take his place—and we already know what his name will be—Griff IV of course!

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Gary Porter is a career educator who grew up in Greenfield. He has written textbooks, magazine and newspaper articles, as well as several books including “Town Kid: Reflections of a Midwestern Boyhood.”