Rogers State University will unveil its new mascot, the “Hillcat,” at a special unveiling rally at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 13, on the Claremore campus. The public is invited to attend.
The rally will feature music, free food and giveaways, and will provide RSU students and the public with their first glimpse of the much-anticipated blue and crimson Hillcat.
Members of the University of Oklahoma Board of Regents, the governing board for RSU, will be in attendance at the rally. The regents will hold their regular meeting on the RSU campus following the event.
“We would like to invite everyone to attend the rally and be the first to see the new Hillcat,” said RSU President Dr. Joe Wiley. “The Hillcat promises to be a source of pride for the university, our students, alumni and the community.”
The Hillcat was selected by a committee appointed by President Wiley and comprised of RSU students, faculty, staff members and alumni. The committee was chaired by Dr. Hugh Foley, assistant professor of communication and one of the nation’s leading experts on school mascots.
The committee studied a variety of mascots over a period of several months before selecting the Hillcat, a fictitious animal based on the bobcat. The Hillcat was described by the committee as proud, fierce and indicative of the enthusiastic spirit of RSU, one of the state’s fastest-growing universities.
The depiction of the Hillcat, which will be unveiled at the rally, was developed by SME Branding, one of the nation’s leading mascot development and marketing firms, based in New York. The development of the mascot was paid for entirely by private funds.
The mascot unveiling rally will be held on the lawn south of the Will Rogers Auditorium. For more information, call (918) 343-7771.