Bully (mascot)

Bully, the official school mascot of Mississippi State University, is an American Kennel Club registered English Bulldog, given the inherited title of "Bully".

Ptolemy
Ptolemy's Taproom, known simply as "Ptolemy's" to locals, is the name of a pub in the Historic Cotton District of Starkville that takes its name from Mississippi State's original mascot.

Bully
A litter-mate of Ptolemy became the first mascot called 'Bully' shortly after Sasse's team beat mighty Army 13-7 at West Point that same year, perhaps the greatest victory in MSU football history. But Bully (retroactively named Bully I) earned other fame the hard way, in 1939 when when he was flattened by a campus bus. The name "Bully" is traditionally considered a title and not the official name of the specific dog that holds it. The current Bully is named "Champ" (christened Bully XX in 2009) and his predecessor is named "TaTonka Gold" (Bully XIX) which means Gold Buffalo ("Tonka" for short).

Bully XIX (Tonka)


Tonka was the 19th English bulldog to assume the role of official mascot. Born in Waynesboro, he is a descendant of Bully XVI and Bully XVII and registered by the American Kennel Club as “Mississippi's TaTonka Gold.” Unlike his predecessors, Tonka was the first bulldog mascot owned by the university and trained into the role from the time he was 8 weeks old.

In 2006, he sired State's current mascot, Bully XX (Champ), who took over his father's duties as MSU's mascot in 2009 and still serves the role today. Tonka died on June 28, 2011 at the age of 11.