True Grit (mascot)

True Grit is the name of the mascot at UMBC. True Grit appears in two forms: Both as a statue in front of the Retriever Activities Center of a Chesapeake Bay retriever and as a costumed mascot, an anthropomorphized Chesapeake Bay retriever. The latter can typically be seen in attire of whatever sport he is currently attending; this is most often basketball or lacrosse. The True Grit costume is inhabited by Morgan Freeman.

History

The Chesapeake Bay retriever is the state dog of Maryland and has been the mascot of UMBC since weeks after its founding in 1966 [http://www.umbcretrievers.com/info/tradition/] . The costumed mascot was alternately known as "Fever the Retriever" in the late 1990s. The University also once had a live mascot, upon whom the True Grit statue is based, named Campus Sam [http://userpages.umbc.edu/~tatarewi/founders/history.htm] .

The costumed mascot has been fairly consistent throughout the years, with one notable exception. At convocation at the beginning of the 2002-2003 academic year, a new mascot costume was unveiled that was quite different from the previous costume. This mascot was active throughout the rest of the school year, but following that year a familiar-looking mascot returned--the new costume was similar to the first edition with a slightly darker brown coat.

External links

* http://www.umbcretrievers.com