Many bears scatter UCA’s campus; Otis, the stainless steel bear climbs the Donaghey apartments. Valor II, a hand-carved wooden bear, greets students in front of Wingo Hall; a bronze bear roars outside Bear Hall’s lobby entrance near “Buddha Bear,” who holds a book.

But few students are aware of Big Boy, whose preserved head now sits in a dark room: the Hall of Fame on the second floor of the Estes Stadium with hand sanitizer and random papers sprawled on top of a clear case.

UCA was originally known as Arkansas State Normal School and it adopted the black bear as the school mascot around 1920.

Despite having a spot in the Hall of Fame room, Big Boy’s legacy seems to have disappeared from UCA students’ minds.

“When we looked further into his story, I grew increasingly upset with where he was put. He was a representative of our school, and I believe he deserves better than being hidden away in the corner of a room not many people know about,” said Lucy Browning, a junior psychology and English major.

Arkansas Gazette newspapers from the UCA archives in Torreyson Library help contextualize Big Boy, and his predecessor Teddy.

Louis Sharpe Dunaway, Big Boy’s owner, had a private zoo where he kept alligators, wolves, eagles and bear cubs.

Before Teddy died in 1922, he was an entertainment bear who allegedly could work out algebra, geometry and even trigonometry problems. 

Dunaway then acquired Big Boy, a cinnamon-colored cub. 

After arriving in Little Rock in late October 1922, Big Boy remained in Dunaway’s private menagerie.

On occasion, sometimes Dunaway would loan out animals.

One of these loans came that same year, for the picture with the UCA football team. 

In a 1922 picture of the football team and Big Boy, team captain Allen Dunaway, the owner’s son, holds Big Boy.

Big Boy died not long after, and his head was donated to UCA around 1928. 

Browning said she seeks justice for Big Boy.

“I think justice for his legacy would be more people knowing about him,” Browning said. “I think the head needs some upkeep in general as well as a new resting place.

“I think he should be moved to a place with higher foot traffic, like in the library, where people could actually see him and learn about his past.”