Aggie mascot could get a touch of life
Next football season, students may be seeing a live mascot leading the team onto the field as the ASUSU council works towards bringing a live mascot to USU.
ASUSU Student Body President Grady Brimley said he discussed the idea of a live mascot with USU football players while at an away football game this season.
“I came back and talked with the cabinet members and everyone was stoked about it,” Grady said.
Bill Munns, ASUSU administrative assistant, said the cost of the animal will be minimal and donations will help transportation to the games. The money will be coming out of Brimley’s student body-allocated budget.
“It’s not going to be a big money eater,” Brimley said.
Other universities that have live mascots are the University of Colorado, who has a live buffalo mascot named Ralphie, and the University of Texas, who has a live Texas longhorn named Bevo. Munns said Bevo has turned into a big thing. They even raise money for scholarships using Bevo’s fundraising money, Munns said.
There is also the option of using the live mascot for fundraising purposes, such as people renting the live mascot to use on a float, Munns said. There is also a possibility of the bull being cloned to showcase USU’s advancement in biological engineering, Munns said.
All the bases have been covered except for the problem of the warranty on the turf being voided if a live animal runs on the field, Brimley said. The idea of putting rubber boots on the animal has been brought up along with the idea of just having the animal in one set location on the field, he said.
If the bull cannot run on the field there is the possibility of just having it in the end zone in a corral, Munns said.
The live mascot’s purpose is to boost student spirit, he said. The bull could lead the team onto the field, run across the end zone when the Aggies score or be used for parades, Munns said.
“If you don’t see the bull down running on the field, will it be worth all the efforts?” Munns said.
To answer the students’ questions and hear their input on the live mascot, ASUSU will be having an information booth on the first floor of the TSC. They want the input of the students concerning the live mascot idea. If students are not able to go to the info booth, they are welcome to e-mail Munns at bill.munns@aggiemail.usu.edu.
–tazya.williams@aggiemail.usu.edu