The Cal Poly Football team mascot, Chase the mustang, retired after a final run on the field Saturday. Unrelated to Musty the Mustang, the costumed, human mascot, Chase served as the university’s athletic mascot for over a decade, galloping without a rider across the green to welcome the crowd.
The mustang completed his final glory run on Saturday, Nov. 22 at 2 p.m., during a home game versus Eastern Washington.
Chase arrived on campus in 2013 as a gift from business administration alumni Robin and Michelle Baggett. The College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences said Chase was introduced to campus to “boost Mustang pride and school spirit across campus.”
Animal science students have the unique opportunity of preparing Chase before each game. Students ride horses alongside the unsaddled mascot in a practice known as “ponying.”
Chase was originally named Moonstar, but was later renamed after Cal Poly’s only female president, Margaret Chase. Cal Poly emphasized the renaming as “a reminder to the community to always follow their dreams.”
Though Chase will no longer be running the fields, he will spend his retirement with the other horses of the Oppenheimer Family Equine Center. Cal Poly will introduce a new hoofed mascot before the 2026 football season.