Damien the Great Dane Crowned Champion of Mascot Madness

Juliana Scarpelli | April 14, 2025

The University at Albany community is buzzing as Damien the Great Dane took home his first ever win in State University of New York's (SUNY) Mascot Madness Competition.

Photo Credit: University at Albany and SUNY on Instagram

Damien edged out Oneonta’s Red by only 386 points, 39,810 to 39,424. 

SUNY’s website says Mascot Madness “brings SUNY mascots together in a competition to find out who the fans feel is the best in all of New York.”

But the competition was also a test of strategic planning, creating alliances, and effective use of social media to spur school spirit. 

Through five rounds of competition, voters picked their favorite mascot via the SUNY website. For an additional vote worth double points, there was an Instagram story poll. Voting was allowed once every 12 hours spanning three to four days depending on the round, and bonus votes were once per account where the poll remained for 24 hours.

Sabrina Pham, a 21-year-old senior communications major, is a Student Content Creator at UAlbany's Office of Communications & Marketing. 

"The media team has ambushed our socials with links to vote and content to encourage voting and school spirit. We've created reels poking fun at our competition and shareable memes," Pham said. "We sent mass texts and emails to students giving them information on voting. We have also been featured in Live news hits with CBS6 and WNYT 13 to reach the Albany community, not just students." 

Due to bonus social media votes being worth double, it was vital for the social media team to step up. 

"The posts are a collaborative effort between student content creators and professional staff," Pham said. "About 75 percent is created by a student or features a student."

In the final round, UAlbany’s Damien was against Red from SUNY Oneonta following an alliance formed by the schools' media teams. 

"Our goal in forming the alliance with Oneonta was to take out two of our biggest competitors: Baxter from Binghamton and Wolfie from Stony Brook," Pham said. "In doing this, we (the underdogs) were able to advance to the next round."

UAlbany junior Madison O'Connell, a 20-year-old psychology major, advocated heavily for Damien, inspired by the media team. 

"I think the social media team is doing an outstanding job at promoting Damien and the contest," O'Connell said before voting ended. "Every time I look at a meme or picture crafted by them, I laugh." 

That was the aim, explained sophomore Mattingly Clarke, 19, a Student Assistant with the Office of Communications and Management. 

"Our goal was to follow the trends and make content that UAlbany students will find funny or relatable," said Clarke, who is studying criminal justice and sociology. "We made sure Damien got as much screen time as possible so that the students could see how cool our mascot really is."

Damien was able to secure the win thanks to bonus social media votes. He finished with 27,100 regular votes while Red finished with 27,118. Bonus points made the difference: Damien had 12,710 bonus votes while Red had 12,306. Combined, the final score was 39,810 to 39,424, making this an incredibly close competition that kept everyone on the edge of their seats. 

"This is the first time Damien has ever won, and the student body should feel so proud," said Clarke. "When we come together as a campus, we can do amazing things."

Some students dipped into their club involvement and reached out to the extended UAlbany community for support.

"I have been asking my family to vote for Damien and spreading the news to vote for him on my social media," said junior Courtney McKenna, 20, while voting was underway. McKenna is studying business administration and is active on UAlbany Dance Council. "With Dance Council I was able to make a video dancing with Damien for the UAlbany social media."

The UAlbany Instagram ran a contest of its own encouraging students to vote for Damien, share it on their story, and tag an on-campus organization. The organization with the most submissions is set to win a pizza party for all members to attend. 

"I think this year has been the best promoting the social media team has done so far for Mascot Madness," McKenna said. "The pizza party incentive was good because it was interactive and got everyone involved." 

Last word was that UAlbany Dance Council was in the lead. 

For Sabrina Pham, the Mascot Madness win was icing on the cake to her senior year at UAlbany.

"It's more than a competition between schools; it's a testament to all the hard work I put in with the marketing team. Seeing everyone celebrating online makes me feel so proud," Pham said. "It's special because it's my senior year; to win before my departure makes it even sweeter. Of course, it wouldn't have been possible without the rest of my team, the students, and the Albany community."