Pistol Pete (New Mexico State University)

Pistol Pete
Pistol Pete
Conference	C-USA
Description	Person in cowboy hat, vest, and chaps, twirling pistols
First seen	1950s

Since 2013, NMSU's athletics logo has been a caricature of Old West gunfighter and lawman Frank "Pistol Pete" Eaton, copied from that of Oklahoma State. Pistol Pete is portrayed by a NMSU student dressed in traditional cowboy attire, including a cowboy hat, a vest, and chaps, and armed with twirling pistols.^[1] NMSU licenses Pistol Pete from Oklahoma State University for $10/year as part of a settlement of a copyright infringement lawsuit.^[2]

Controversy

Frank "Pistol Pete" Eaton, the inspiration for the mascot

The statue controversy

A proposed new statue of Pistol Pete at the entrance of NMSU^[3] was dropped in 2019 amid controversy, as some faculty opposed the statue as inappropriate.^[4]

Lasso Larry Debacle

Pistol Pete was disarmed in 2005 as part of a plan to rebrand the university on the national stage.^[5] Pete's pistol was replaced with a lasso, and his name was briefly officially abbreviated to simply "Pete." The costumed mascot seen at games also lost his six shooters and holster belt in favor of a lasso.^[6] The disarming of Pete led to a massive uproar among alumni and outsiders demanding the return of Pete's guns. Popular T-shirts worn around campus featured the old Pistol Pete logo modified to show an oversized gun in his hand, with the slogan “Who Brings a Lasso to a Gunfight?” The decision was criticized by Fox News anchor Bill O'Reilly during his "Most Ridiculous Item of the Day" segment.^[7] The most popular nickname given to the widely unpopular new mascot was "Lasso Larry."

Revival of Pistol Pete

After one year the university revamped the cartoonish mascot in favor of a real student dressed in more traditional cowboy attire, carrying a holster belt and six shooters, and wearing a black cowboy hat. The "Pistol Pete" name was also restored. In 2007, NMSU modified the logo to remove the lasso and once again depict Pistol Pete carrying pistols, and this is now the official athletics logo.

Suspension

In 2009, the Pistol Pete mascot was suspended for one game by the Western Athletic Conference for fighting with Utah State's mascot, Big Blue, during a 2009 WAC men's basketball tournament game.^[8]

References

^ "A new era for Pistol Pete at NMSU". New Mexico State University. October 1, 2012. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
^ "Oklahoma State University, New Mexico State University settle mascot" (PDF). New Mexico State University. December 4, 2014. Retrieved 2016-09-11.
^ "A New Look". Feb 26, 2019. Retrieved 2019-02-26.
^ "A Pistol Pete monument would be 'traumatic' to campus life". Feb 26, 2019. Retrieved 2019-02-26.
^ "New Mexico State might retire Pistol Pete". ESPN. May 29, 2005. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
^ "N.M. State's 'Pistol Pete' Losing Pistol". Fox News. August 15, 2005. Archived from the original on May 29, 2014. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
^ FOXNews.com - The Truth About the Cindy Sheehan Situation - Bill O’Reilly | The O’Reilly Factor
^ "Pistol Pete suspended one game". ESPN. March 30, 2009. Retrieved 2014-05-28.

External links

[nmsu-1] "A new era for Pistol Pete at NMSU". New Mexico State University. October 1, 2012. Retrieved 2014-05-28.

[nmsu2-2] "Oklahoma State University, New Mexico State University settle mascot" (PDF). New Mexico State University. December 4, 2014. Retrieved 2016-09-11.

[A_New_Look-3] "A New Look". Feb 26, 2019. Retrieved 2019-02-26.

[Colonial_and_Violent-4] "A Pistol Pete monument would be 'traumatic' to campus life". Feb 26, 2019. Retrieved 2019-02-26.

[espn-5] "New Mexico State might retire Pistol Pete". ESPN. May 29, 2005. Retrieved 2014-05-28.

[fox-6] "N.M. State's 'Pistol Pete' Losing Pistol". Fox News. August 15, 2005. Archived from the original on May 29, 2014. Retrieved 2014-05-28.

[7] FOXNews.com - The Truth About the Cindy Sheehan Situation - Bill O’Reilly | The O’Reilly Factor

[suspension-8] "Pistol Pete suspended one game". ESPN. March 30, 2009. Retrieved 2014-05-28.

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v t e New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball
Venues	Pan American Center (1968–present)
Rivalries	New Mexico UTEP
Culture & lore	Pistol Pete
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA Final Four appearance in italics

v t e New Mexico State Aggies football
Venues	Miller Field (1893–1932) Quesenberry Field (1933–1949) Memorial Stadium (1950–1977) Aggie Memorial Stadium (1978–2019, 2021–present) Sun Bowl (2020)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games New Mexico: Rio Grande Rivalry UTEP: Battle of I-10
Culture & lore	Pistol Pete Aggie Fight Song Pride of New Mexico KXPZ
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024