What is a Billiken? Saint Louis basketball nickname, history, origin

Saint Louis basketball was one of the best stories of the first two days of the 2026 Men’s NCAA Tournament.

After earning a No. 9 seed in March Madness, the Billikens not only won their first tournament game since 2014, but also did it in style. Saint Louis led No. 8 Georgia wire-to-wire in a 102-77 drubbing, leading by as many as 40 points at one time.

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First round winners, losers: Key March Madness wins for Nebraska and Kentucky

Now, the Billikens are tasked with taking on No. 1 Michigan at 12:15 p.m. ET Saturday, March 21, from the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York, with a chance to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1957.

But that may still leave college basketball fans unfamiliar with the program asking, “What exactly is a Billiken?” Here’s the history of Saint Louis’ nickname for its athletic programs ahead of the second round matchup with Michigan in the NCAA Tournament:

What is a Billiken?

Saint Louis Billikens mascot The Billiken performs during the second half of a first round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament against the Georgia Bulldogs at Keybank Center.

According to the Saint Louis University website, the Billiken was a national sensation in the 1900s. The mythical creature was used as the face of items produced, such as dolls, marshmallow candies, belt buckles, and other items.

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The Billiken represents “things as they ought to be.” According to legends, “To buy a Billiken gives the purchaser luck, but to have one given to you is better luck.”

Florence Pretz — a Missouri art teacher and illustrator — is credited with the creation of the figure. In 1908, she patented her “design for an image” of the Billiken while working at Kansas City’s Manual Training School.

The belief is that Pretz found the name in a Bliss Carman poem and bestowed it upon her creation.

“I concluded if there is a chance that we shape our own lives, and my clay was mine to fashion as I would, I might as well make an image, which embodied hope and happiness to sort of live up to,” Pretz said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

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Why is Saint Louis named the Billikens?

The school…

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Publish date : 2026-03-21 13:07:00

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