Pair of WVU students get extended time as university’s Mountaineer mascot
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (BVM) — West Virginia University junior Colson Glover had been on the trajectory to be a student at the school since before he was born. As the story goes, Glover, a third generation Mountaineer and a Lewisburg native, was named not after a relative or a friend, but a building.
Colson Hall is one of the main buildings at the university having once served as the law school and is now the home of the English department. The building itself was renamed in 1972 from the Old Law Building to Colson Hall after Clyde Lemuel Colson, a twice acting president of the university. Now that name has been passed along to Glover.
“Gold and blue runs in my family’s blood,” Glover said. “We’ve always been diehard Mountaineers. … The very first thing I held in the cradle was a football with the flying WV so my family is obsessed with WVU and it was kind of a natural fit for me to be named Colson.”
As if his name wasn’t enough to keep Glover forever tied to West Virginia, his most recent appointment will. In March, Glover was named the university’s 67th “Mountaineer” mascot after being selected by the mascot committee. As a sophomore at the time, Glover was one of the youngest applicants for the position, but that didn’t mean he was inexperienced in the mascot’s history, wanting to be the Mountaineer since he was a child.
“I had the dream of being the Mountaineer mascot since I was little and kind of idolizing them,” Glover said. “I always knew I wanted to be the Mountaineer mascot.”
The selection process was not an easy one. As one of the most desired collegiate mascot roles in the country, the university has created a thorough plan to be sure they have picked the perfect candidate.
First, and most importantly, all candidates must be full-time students at the university to apply. Then, based on the amount of applications, the committee selects no more than 10 candidates to participate in a half-hour interview.The field is then reduced to the top four candidates. The top four then participate in a mascot tryout during a Mountaineers basketball game where they don the famous buckskins and carry the rifle. During the game, the candidates are evaluated by the selection committee on everything from performance to interactions with the crowd. The Mountaineer is then selected based on a combination of their application, their interview and tryout scores.
Through it all, Glover came out on top.
But Glover will not be alone in his success. Every year, the runner-up during the mascot tryouts is named the Mountaineer mascot alternate. This year, that honor went to Brooke Ashby, a senior from Mannington. For Ashby, the honor was the achievement of a long-held goal.
“I’ve wanted to actually be the Mountaineer since I was about 12 or 13,” Ashby said. “I’ve always known I was going to go to WVU and I didn’t apply anywhere else because I didn’t want to go anywhere else.”
Ashby has been a dedicated member of the WVU community, having served in the student government, being part of the student fan organization Mountaineers Maniacs’ executive board and even other mascot experience as the Monte Bear mascot for WVU Medicine. But now Ashby gets to take her love of her school to its highest level.
“I can’t think of a bigger honor even to be the alternate,” Ashby said. “It’s such an incredible honor to be able to fulfill this role and to be able to represent the university and this state.”
During one of the last home basketball games, the duo found out their fate as the Mountaineer and the alternate and it was one they wouldn’t soon forget.
“We found out on the court,” Glover said. “Our emotions, our reactions were 100% real and they were our first impressions of finding out we were the Mountaineer and the alternate Mountaineer. … Our dreams were really coming true and it was just an unbelievable moment for sure.”
“We were both very lost for words,” Ashby said. “I remember walking up the steps and shaking a little like ‘Oh my gosh it’s us!’”
Our next Mountaineer is Colson Glover, a sophomore from Lewisburg! Congrats, Colson! 💛💙 pic.twitter.com/vqKAG1jVoT
— WVU Mountaineers (@WestVirginiaU) March 7, 2020
The Mountaineer is a busy person during the school year. The mascot is required to attend every home football and men’s and women’s basketball contests, including any home contest during any of the university’s class breaks. The Mountaineer will also have to attend any away contest determined by the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Additionally, the mascot is also encouraged to attend alumni events, visits to the WVU Children’s Hospital, visits to West Virginia schools and community events.
Glover and Ashby both agreed that what made the Mountaineer an endearing figure to the university and the state is that it has both longevity and rarity as the symbol for the state’s biggest sports programs.
“There are no professional teams in West Virginia as far as sports so WVU is the school,” Glover said. “Being the figure and the ambassador for the school and a school that so many people love it really means a lot to West Virginians and what better thing to be than the face of West Virginia University.”
Between the time of selection and the Blue and Gold football game in April, the incoming Mountaineer works with the current Mountaineer using them as a mentor to learn about the role and how to conduct themselves. Typically, the game represents the beginning of the new Mountaineer’s term which will run for a year, but that wasn’t the case in 2020.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the university ended up canceling the Blue and Gold scrimmage, thus not giving Colson the opportunity to officially take over the reins. As the pandemic raged on, Colson’s future as the mascot was at risk. Having not been able to participate in the full slate of mascot duties like the former 66 mountaineers, Colson’s dream was slowly becoming a nightmare, coming so close but missing out at the finish line. Fortunately for both Colson and Ashby, the school wouldn’t let the pandemic ruin their time in the spotlight.
On Aug. 10, the Mountaineer Advisory Council announced that Glover and Ashby would serve as the Mountaineer and alternate, respectively, through 2021-2022. With neither having made an in-person appearance yet, the news was welcomed with open arms.
“I’m really grateful that they’re able to see that we aren’t getting the full experience and they’re able to extend that,” Ashby said. “I would really love to see Colson run on that football field and there would be a normal stadium full of fans. I’m grateful we have more time in the buckskin.”
While the pair has not been able to make any in-person appearances yet, they are both available for virtual appearances and some in-person appearances if they receive permission from the council. Though he hasn’t made an official appearance since his tryout, Glover’s life has already changed.
“Before I was named the Mountaineer and before I even attended WVU there was a video released and it was all the former Mountaineers talking about how when you throw the buckskins on you’re transformed into somebody else,” Glover said. “I always kind of wondered what that felt like and the second I slipped them on, it was that way. You were thinking this is real and I am representing West Virginia University.”
It’s already been an unforgettable ride, but nothing means more to me than getting those in-person appearances back next year. Can’t wait to make you proud Mountaineers! Congratulations to @BrookeEAshby! It’s a great day to be a Mountaineer! 🟡🔵 https://t.co/PpqecNFKuP
— Mary the Mountaineer (@WVUMascot) August 10, 2020
While both patiently await their first in-person appearances, Glover and Ashby are on pins and needles thinking about their first times with fans in the buckskins.
“Can you imagine how much of our fanbase or how crowded Milan Puskar Stadium is going to be?” Glover said. “I can’t wait until that day we can step back into Milan Puskar and really appreciate it and not take it for granted.”
“I cannot wait for the day we can sing ‘Country Roads’ normally again,” Ashby said. “I cannot wait for that day.”
With another year as the Mountaineer, Glover and Ashby will be able to represent the school they love in the greatest way possible. While COVID-19 has ended many careers too early, it is good to see that the Mountaineer will be able to push through it and come out on the other side.
