Butler's Blue II passes away, leaves legacy

Blue II became one of the more iconic mascots in college basketball since his incision as the live version of the Butler Bulldogs' nickname. Blue II will now look on from above, as he passed away on August 31st of congestive heart failure.

He lived
a very fulfilled life as Butler University's athletics mascot fo
r his whole life, dating back to 2004 and ending with the final athletic events of the 2012-13 calendar. On May 20, 2013, Blue II officially retired from his active duties as mascot of the Butler Bulldogs, but gave the reigns to Blue III, who will be known as "Trip" on Friday, March 9 at the final regular season home game against Xavier.

Trip made appearances throughout the remainder of Butler's spring sports calendar.

Blue II became an instant celebrity when Butler's men's basketball team wore Cinderella's slippers to their fullest during their 2010 and 2011 NCAA Tournament runs all the way to the National Championship game each year.

Blue suffered from dilated cardiomyopathy, which affects both the right and left sides of the heart, which decided Blue II's ultimate fate on August 31.

Upon his retirement as Butler's live mascot, Blue II had the privilege of walking across the stage at the May 2013 Butler commencement ceremonies, putting his stamp of approval on the spring semester's Butler University graduates.

He was owned by Butler University's Director of Web Marketing, Michael Kaltenmark, who is a 2002 Butler grad.