Canisius adopted the nickname "Golden Griffins" for their school athletic teams in 1932, in honor of Great Lakes explorer La Salle's ship, Le Griffon.
Petey won the online tournament, besting a field of 32 Catholic school mascots, including Notre Dame's Leprechaun and Boston College's Baldwin the Eagle.
[6][7][8][9] The following year, Petey advanced to the Final 4 of the same Busted Halo contest, but was ultimately defeated by Iggy the Royal Wolf from the University of Scranton.
[10][11] In 2015 Petey was entered in to the College Court Report "Mascot Mayhem" contest, where he made it to the Final 4 - surpassing Butler, North Florida, St. Louis, and UNLV.
[14] Over 7,000 votes were cast in the final contest pairing, and Petey was narrowly defeated by a margin of 56.8% to 43.2%, claiming the 2nd place title.