The Complete Family Tree Of College Mascots

The above image is just a tiny portion—the cat teams—of the universe of NCAA mascots. Of nearly 1,300 schools in Divisions I, II, and III, there are bound to be some repeats. But now that someone has gone to the trouble of putting every single one on a poster and breaking them down by team name, it's time to be graphically struck by the unoriginality.

Pop Chart Lab has created "the Chart of College Sports Teams," and it's a bit overwhelming. So many Eagles, so many Warriors and Rams and Bulldogs and Tigers and at least five different varieties of Hawks. Animals make up more than 50 percent of the college teams across the country, with various races, professions, natural phenomena, and self-referential abstractions making up most of the rest. It's hard to come up with a new mascot! Though the rodent branch is strangely bare, for anyone thinking about founding a university.

The poster can be yours for $30, or you can go on believing your Wildcats are special little flowers. You can view the full-sized chart at Pop Chart, or below.

[Via Extra Mustard]