The Riverhawk comes to life
Students take the stage in hopes of becoming the first UCC mascot in history

By Rena Bjerke · The Mainstream
Published January 25, 2011

Five students hoping to earn the right to be the brand new Riverhawk mascot took center stage Thursday, Jan. 13 at Whipple in a competition that has narrowed to two contestants.

An anonymous donor gave UCC $1,000 to buy the uniform.

A panel comprised of 15 judges scored each contestant on originality, creativity and energy and eventually selected Thomas Humbert and Corinne Windish as finalists. The two finalists then performed in full costume, one at Friday night’s game and the other at Saturday night’s game.

Their identities were kept secret so no one knew which contestant performed at which game. The videos of the performances were then sent to the committee who will determine the winner at the next meeting.

The winner of the contest will earn both the right to wear the mascot uniform as well as an ambassador merit award which will pay for tuition.

The Riverhawk mascot represents the latest evolution of the transition from UCC’s previous school moniker of Timbermen. Until 2006, students were known as Timbermen and Timberwomen, but the gender specific names became complicated because the school had to switch back and forth depending on the event taking place.

In April of 2006, a campus wide vote narrowed selections for a school name to four choices: the Bobcats, Timbercats, Timberhawks or Riverhawks. Blaine Nisson, UCC president at the time, made the final decision for Riverhawk.

The Riverhawk is not a real animal but closely resembles the Osprey, a bird of prey that nests near water to feed on fish.

Colleges have been using mascots since the mid 20th century when schools decided they needed a way to set themselves apart. The very first school mascots appeared in Ivy League schools such as Yale and Harvard.

After the first mascots surfaced, soon mascots were seen in nearly every school. Mascots soon became household names and proud identifiers. School mascots are thought to generate excitement and energize school spirit, while fostering a sense of pride and unity, according to the National Cheerleaders Association.

Michelle Aguiar, a pre-nursing major at UCC, attends as many sporting events as she possibly can. “I have been to a lot of games, and when there is a school mascot out there, it just makes the crowd go wild. When there is no mascot, the game is still fun to watch, but the excitement in the audience is just so much more intense when they are out there getting everyone all hyped up,” said Aguiar.

Fun fact: It is considered bad luck to unmask a school mascot. In news photographs, a mascot’s face is often blurred if the mascot removes the costume head to get a drink or a breath of fresh air.