CLEVELAND, Ohio - Zippy, the University of Akron's kangaroo mascot, turned 65 on Tuesday and celebrated with fellow mascots Webster from the Akron RubberDucks and Pozzie from Canton Charge.

And there was cake and cupcakes.

The university's nickname, the Zips, was adopted in 1950 as a shortened version of its prior nickname, the Zippers, according to university history. Zippers was chosen in a contest in 1925 and was the brand name of a pair of rubber overshoes made by the B.F. Goodrich Co.

The evolution of Zippy began in the 1950s, when the student council decided the university needed a mascot.

A kangaroo was officially declared UA's mascot on May 1, 1953 at the suggestion of a student council advisor who had seen a comic strip about a fighting kangaroo.

A 1965 Zips football press brochure includes an early reference to the mascot as Zippy.

Zippy is one of about eight female college athletic mascots in the U.S. In 2007, Zippy was the winner of the national Capital One Mascot of the Year Challenge.

Unlike other universities, Zippy's appearances are handled by the alumni office instead of the athletics department. The office currently has four Zippy suits.