Griffin ( mascot ) The Griffin , a mythical creature with the head of an eagle and the body of a lion , is the mascot of The College of William & Mary . William & Mary President Taylor Reveley announced the adoption of the new mascot on April 6 , 2010 . The Griffin mascot beat out the other four finalists : a King and Queen ( dual mascot ) , a Phoenix , a Pug , and a Wren . The Griffin replaced the College ' s unofficial mascot a green and gold frog called " Colonel Ebirt " . History . Originally , the mascot for William and Mary were students that dressed as Native Americans because William & Mary ' s athletic teams used to be known as the " Indians " , which was later changed to the " Tribe . " In May 2006 , the NCAA ruled that the old athletic logo for William & Mary , which includes two green and gold feathers , could create an environment that is offensive to the Native American community . The College ' s appeal regarding the use of the institution ’ s athletic logo to the NCAA Executive Committee was rejected . The " Tribe " nickname , by itself , was found to be neither hostile nor abusive , but rather communicates ennobling sentiments of commitment , shared idealism , community and common cause . The College stated it would phase out the use of the two feathers by the fall of 2007 . Due to the changing nature of the athletic teams persona , for a short time , the College ' s unofficial mascot was a green and gold frog ( though it was commonly referred to on campus simply as an ' amorphous green blob ' ) called " Colonel Ebirt " ( " Tribe " backwards ) , which was discontinued in 2005 . In 2009 , William & Mary President Taylor Reveley appointed a committee of alumni , students , faculty , and staff to helm the selection for a new mascot for the college that could serve as a " unifying , fun figure on campus " as well as making sure that the new mascot " look [ ed ] good on T - Shirts and in costume . " In December 2009 , five finalists — including a Griffin , King and Queen , the Phoenix , a Pug and the Wren — were announced from more than 800 submissions . After announcement of the finalists , there was a month - long public feedback period on the five mascot finalists in which more than 11 , 000 people completed a survey . The appointed mascot committee reviewed more than 22 , 000 comments regarding the new mascot . The committee even heard received a comment from Colonel Ebirt , the previous unofficial mascot who had developed his own Facebook page . Colonel Ebirt also released a YouTube video where he stated that he had no plans to leave retirement . Announcement and reception . On April 6 , 2010 , president Reveley announced that the College has selected the Griffin as its new mascot . President Reveley stated that the new mascot symbolizes the links between the college ' s historic ties to both Great Britain , whose monarchy has used the symbol of the lion in the past , and the United States , which uses the eagle as the national symbol . William and Mary Athletic Director Terry Driscoll said about the Griffin : " The griffin is half eagle and half lion , which symbolizes intelligence and strength , and this what we want our student athletes to represent . " The mascot does not have an official name yet . President Reveley stated that a name for the Griffin would not come in the Spring 2010 semester and that : " If and when the beast gets a name , we ' ll let the people decide . " The announcement of the new mascot was made fun of by College of William & Mary alumnus Jon Stewart , who stated on the April 8 , 2010 , broadcast of " The Daily Show " , " William and Mary has announced a new mascot . It ' s a griffin , which is ancient Greek for the rare pantless tailed eagle . Sorry , but in my day running through campus with no pants on was the students ' job . " The new mascot was also welcomed into the group of college griffin mascots in a faux " open letter " to " USA Today " by the Canisius College Golden Griffin , which stated " [ Y ] ou are a newcomer , if you don ' t mind my saying so , in this griffin mascot biz , this being your first full day and all . And there is one thing you should know . Please , don ' t take shots at other griffins . "