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An orange. An astronaut. Almost a mascot.

The Citronaut appeared on the cover of UCF's (then FTU) first student handbook
The Citronaut appeared on the cover of UCF’s (then FTU) first student handbook in 1968.

Maybe you’ve heard about the history of the UCF mascot [1]; maybe you’ve even heard about the Citronaut. Ever seen it?

Other choices would emerge–from a vulture to a scorpion and finally a knight–but it was the Citronaut that got the debate going: What would represent the university? According to UCF’s University Archives, the Orlando Evening Star (now the Orlando Sentinel) commented on the Citronaut on September 23, 1968: “its fate as a mascot will be determined ultimately by faculty and charter students…”

Students voted. And we all know the outcome of that election.