The Cutest Live College MascotsAnimals have long been a part of college sports. And it's no surprise that the most enduring – and adorable – of these fan-friendly, fun-loving furballs are dogs

Credit: Brent Smith/Butler University

Updated: Friday Oct 15, 2010 | 06:00 AM EDT

Blue II, Butler's English bulldog

Butler's good-luck charm led his school's men's basketball team – a perennial, ahem, underdog – all the way to the national-title game last March. As a crowd of more than 70,000 looked on, each Bulldogs player petted the 6-year-old on the head during pregame introductions and he responded by barking up a storm. In spite of that stirring pep talk, Butler missed a last-second shot to win the game and fell to Duke 61-59. But Blue won a host of new fans; he now has more than 2,000 followers on Twitter.