Buddy the Street Dog Queens University of Charlotte Bobblehead Unveiled

This morning, the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum unveiled an officially licensed, limited-edition bobblehead of Buddy the Street Dog, the unofficial mascot of the Queens University of Charlotte’s men’s basketball team. The Buddy the Street Dog Bobblehead is being released in conjunction with the school’s Commencement this weekend and to celebrate Queens’ run to the NCAA Tournament in its first year of eligibility. The special edition bobblehead is being produced by the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, an official licensee of Queens University of Charlotte.

• The bobbleheads, which are expected to ship in November, are now available at this link.
• Each bobblehead will be individually numbered to only 2,026.
• The bobbleheads are $30 each plus an $8 flat-rate shipping charge per order.
• Sitting on a blue circular base bearing the Queens logo and his name across the front, the Buddy the Street Dog bobblehead is a replica of the ceramic German Shepherd statue with a studded collar and “B” necklace around his neck.
• Purchased on Amazon for $150 by Queens men’s basketball coach Grant Leonard, the 2-foot-tall ceramic German Shepherd statue named Buddy represents the team’s “street dog” mentality. The Buddy statue is awarded after games to the player who most embodies that street dog spirit, focusing on non-stat sheet plays like diving for loose balls, taking charges, and doing the dirty work. Last summer, the Queens coaching staff was trying to bring that spirit out of the players who said that “they were dogs.” Queens assistant coach Adam Short, who is nicknamed “Bulldog,” asked if they were the pampered type of canine or the type that could earn their keep with scrappy play.
• Buddy goes everywhere with the team. During the 2025-26 season, freshman guard Matthew Walter was Buddy’s unofficial caretaker, tasked with escorting the statue through the airport. With Buddy as a key motivator, the Royals nabbed their first-ever NCAA Tournament bid after beating Central Arkansas 98-93 in overtime in the championship game of the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament. The 15th-seeded Royals lost to Purdue in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Technically, it was Buddy II that accompanied the team during the second half of the season. The original Buddy was broken during a postgame celebration in January after Queens beat Florida Gulf Coast in Fort Myers.
• The Buddy the Street Dog Bobblehead is being released to celebrate Queens’ run to the NCAA Tournament in its first year of eligibility this season along with the university-wide Spring 2026 Commencement on Saturday, May 9th at Curry Arena, Levine Center for Wellness & Recreation.
• “We’re excited to unveil the first bobblehead of Buddy the Street Dog – the unofficial mascot of the 2026 Queens University men’s basketball team,” National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum co-founder and CEO Phil Sklar said. “Credited with being the identity and spirit animal for Queens, Buddy was a great motivator for the Royals in their run to the NCAA Tournament. This bobblehead will be a must-have for Queens fans everywhere who can now have their own Buddy the Street Dog in bobblehead form!”
• The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, which is located at 170 S. 1st St. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, opened to the public on February 1st, 2019. The HOF and Museum also produces high quality, customized bobbleheads for retail sale as well as organizations, individuals, and teams across the country.