University of Massachusets Athletics
Sam The Minutemen Finishes Second In National Mascot Contest
January 02, 2006 | General
Jan. 2, 2006
ORLANDO, Fla. - When it was announced that Sam the Minuteman was edged in voting for Mascot of the Year by Herbie Husker, the mascot of the University of Nebraska, the UMass stalwart took the news in stride. "Let's keep this in perspective," he said. "We Minutemen helped defeat the entire British empire."
Sam was one of two finalists in the hotly contested and prestigious Capital One All-America Mascot Challenge. The winner was announced at halftime during the Capital One Bowl in Orlando on January 2.
The challenge got underway last summer when a panel selected the All-America Mascot Team from among those nominated by NCAA Division 1A and 1AA schools. Sam became one of the lucky dozen thanks to his square-jawed good looks, charisma, and "pedigree," i.e., awards earned over the last five years and national prominence. Because Sam made the team, UMass Amherst was given $5,000 to help fund its mascot program.
Throughout the fall, the 12, including critters furry and feathered and iconic types like Sam and Purdue Pete the Boilermaker, squared off against one another, with fans voting online for their favorites early and often (but no more than once a day). Real-time results stirred up the voting frenzy; hundreds of thousands of votes were logged. The six with the top win-loss records entered the playoffs; cornfed Herbie and stoic Sam emerged as the final two contestants the week before Christmas.
The other mascots on the All-America team were no slouches. UCLA's Joe Bruin, for instance, had some smooth break-dancing moves. Buzz, of Georgia Tech, swiveled his hips like Elvis when it came time to Hula Hoop. Sam was more than a match for them, as well as for two-time Capital One Challenge champion Monte the Grizzly from the University of Montana. If trouncing an ibis and a gamecock doesn't seem such a triumph, consider that Sam was the only mascot in the challege from a Division I-AA football school. UMass fans may be just as diehard as, for example, South Carolina, where Cocky cheers, but attendance at home games at SC averages around 80,000.
No question Sam's a terrific mascot, and looking remarkably young and fit for someone who's been a fixture at UMass Amherst athletic events since the 1970s. He's already a celeb of sorts, having appeared on national news programs and game shows and schmoozing with tennis star Andy Roddick in a popular ESPN commercials/ When Sam's not working sports events he takes his moves on the road, visiting children in western Massachusetts schools, for example or doing charity work with UMass athletes. In the challenge, Sam was the only mascot representing a New England school--maybe regional chauvinism played a part in Sam's getting as many votes as he did. Not to mention the patriotic angle: if it weren't for the Minutemen mustering in Lexington and Concord in 1775, we might all be sipping tea and lining up for tickets to the next cricket match. And maybe UMass Amherst sophomore Adam DiVincenzo, quoted in The Daily Collegian, was on to something when he explained why Sam is so popular: "He's like everyone's friend. It's not like he's a bird flapping his wings or something; everyone wants to hang out with him."
Well, not quite everyone. In the end, Herbie Husker proved the popular choice, in the largest voter turnout ever. On learning that he'd won, the muscle-bound farmhand was at a loss for words--none of the mascots is a big talker--merely muttering, "Aw, shucks." As for Sam, true to his rah-rah personality, he's staying upbeat: "Like they used to say about the Red Sox, wait till next year."
By Faye Wolfe, UMass.edu