Before Dak, There Was Bully: The Tradition Connecting Mississippi State Generations

Mississippi State fans can disagree about quarterbacks, coaching decisions and what constitutes a successful season. Bully occupies a different place in the conversation. The live English Bulldog represents something that survives those arguments, changing rosters and the results that can make a Saturday either unforgettable or difficult to forget.

Today, that responsibility belongs to Dak, officially Bully XXII. His name connects him to one of Mississippi State’s most celebrated football players, but his role reaches much further back than the quarterback who inspired it. He carries a title passed through generations of dogs, alongside a tradition that began taking its recognizable shape in 1935.

Understanding that history requires a distinction sometimes lost in game-day shorthand. Bully is the inherited mascot title, while Dak is the individual dog currently holding it. The costumed Bully familiar to fans is another expression of Mississippi State’s identity, not the live animal himself. They share a name and a purpose, but their stories are not interchangeable.

Mississippi State Live Mascot Bully XXII during the game between the Texas Longhorns and the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field in Starkville, MS. | Mississippi State Athletics

A Memphis Bulldog Helped Begin the Story

According to Mississippi State’s official traditions account, the live-mascot story began in 1935 when head football coach Major Ralph Sasse traveled to Memphis to select a bulldog. The university describes the trip as occurring on “orders” from his team, giving the origin a distinctly football-centered character. The players wanted a bulldog, and their coach helped bring one into the program.

The dog was Ptolemy, commonly called Tol, supplied by the Edgar Webster family. Mississippi State subsequently defeated Alabama 20-7, a result that became part of the university’s account of how the mascot tradition developed. The connection between a bulldog and a memorable victory supplied an early chapter worth preserving.

There is an important distinction within that origin. The university identifies Ptolemy as the dog used at the beginning of the game-mascot tradition, then identifies a littermate as the first mascot called Bully. That littermate entered the story shortly after Sasse’s team defeated Army 13-7 at West Point. Ptolemy’s role in the beginning and the first dog’s Bully title should not be collapsed into a single, interchangeable account.

Those details explain why the tradition became more than an animal brought out for photographs. Its earliest telling was connected to the football team’s experiences. Fans encountered a dog whose arrival became associated with results that mattered to the program, giving the mascot a place within Mississippi State’s developing athletic identity.

The victories did not make a bulldog responsible for winning football games. They gave the school a story people could carry forward. An image became attached to shared experiences, and later generations inherited both. That combination helped turn the live mascot from a novelty into a recognizable part of the university.

Bully eventually became a bridge between generations. Players graduated, coaches departed and expectations changed, but the title continued. Each new dog could have an individual personality while occupying a role that fans already understood.

Passing the Harness Gives Change a Ceremony

The tradition’s continuity is reflected in the Passing of the Harness. Held during Super Bulldog Weekend in recent transitions, the ceremony allows the outgoing mascot to yield the responsibility to his successor. Fans witness the change rather than merely learning about a new dog through an announcement.

Recent generations provide a clear line through that history. Tonka held the title of Bully XIX, followed by Champ as Bully XX and Jak as Bully XXI. Mississippi State’s 2015 announcement described Jak accepting mascot duties from his father, Champ, during that year’s spring-game festivities. The transition linked the next representative to a dog fans already knew.

Jak’s formal name, Cristil’s Golden Prince, reflected the way a mascot could carry another connection to Mississippi State history. His everyday name was easier to recognize around campus and on the sideline, but his formal name preserved an additional layer of meaning. The university’s announcement also described a selection process involving mascot-sired puppies and identified Tonka as the first mascot the university purchased, in 2001.

These details move the story beyond a sequence of dogs wearing the same colors. Succession involves selection, preparation and care. The live mascot is an animal with individual needs, not a uniform that can simply be handed to the next performer. His role requires continuity behind the scenes as well as recognition in front of the crowd.

The ceremony gives the outgoing dog a place in the story, too. Welcoming a successor does not require treating the previous mascot as though he never existed. It recognizes his service while introducing the next generation, allowing fans who became attached to one Bully to see continuity rather than a replacement.

That distinction matters in college athletics, where change often arrives abruptly. A familiar player leaves, a coach departs or a venue changes without a shared moment of farewell. Passing the Harness gives Mississippi State a deliberate way to recognize both an ending and a beginning.

Mississippi State Live Mascot Bully XXII during the game between the Missouri Tigers and the Mississippi State Bulldogs. — Mississippi State Live Mascot Bully XXII during the game between the Missouri Tigers and the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field in Starkville, MS. | Mississippi State Athletics

Dak Carries the Tradition Today

Mississippi State announced Dak as its next live mascot in March 2023. Born March 1, 2021, he was owned by Julie and Bruce Martin of Meridian and named after former Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott. The university identified his bloodline as including Tonka and Champ, connecting the new mascot directly to familiar predecessors.

His selection supplied an individual story as well. Mississippi State’s announcement described Dak as the smallest puppy in his litter and said university representatives began searching for Jak’s successor in 2021. The school presented his determination and perseverance as qualities fitting its next live representative.

Dak officially assumed the role on April 15, 2023, during halftime of the spring football game. Jak served during the first half, and Dak took over following the Passing of the Harness and blessing ceremony. The transition made him Bully XXII while allowing him to retain the name connecting him to Prescott.

That distinction deserves to remain clear. Dak did not replace the name Bully; he inherited its title. Mississippi State continues to identify him as its current live mascot, and photographs from the Oct. 3, 2026, Alabama game identify the dog entering Davis Wade Stadium as Dak, Bully XXII.

His significance does not depend on that game’s outcome. Football supplies the most visible stage, but the live mascot belongs to the wider university experience. For fans, he offers a recognizable connection between the Mississippi State they knew years ago and the school they encounter today.

Ptolemy helped begin the story, generations of Bully mascots carried it forward, and Dak now supplies its current face.

Each dog has an individual name and place in the lineage. The lasting achievement is not that every mascot was the same, but that Mississippi State allowed each one to become part of something larger.

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