 In 1934 a contest in the Silver & Gold newspaper determined the school mascot to be the buffaloes . For the final football game of the 1934 season , a group of students paid $ 25 to rent a buffalo calf to stand on the sidelines . Along with a real cowboy caretaker , it took four students to keep the calf , the son of “ Killer , ” a famed bison at Trails End Ranch in Fort Collins , calm on the sidelines . As far as luck though , Thanksgiving Day . 
