When the student body of Bloomsburg State Teachers College gathered to select the first official school mascot in 1933, they voted nearly unanimously in favor of adopting the Siberian Husky. It wasn’t entirely an unbiased choice. The breed was nominated by one of the school’s art professors who was also avid Husky man, George J. Keller. It was Keller’s view, and the students agreed, that the Husky embodied many noble qualities, and it was one of Keller’s dogs who made his first mascot appearance at a pep rally wearing a blanket of school’s colors, maroon and gold. Fittingly, he was named, “Roongo,” a combination of maroon and gold.

From 1933 until 1958, five huskies served as official mascots, three of them named Roongo.  In time, the school determined that it was too expensive to keep an actual dog, so a husky costume was designed in 1979 for a student to wear as the new husky mascot. Five costumes have been used since that time, the latest coming in 2005.  In 2013, the call went out for a new mascot. Curious to see if you would have had what it took to fill the role? Check out the lists of dos and don’ts.