On Oct. 19, KSU will unveil a horned owl as the university’s first live mascot, during KSU’s second annual “Flight Night”.
According to a university news release, the 20-week-old owl is still being trained by animal trainer Daniel Walthers, who has extensive experience training birds. Walthers previously worked to raise and train the “Rise” and “Conquer” mascots for the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens in 2008 and 2009.
The naming of KSU’s mascot will be left up to members of the KSU community, including students, faculty, staff, KSU trustees and alumni, who will be able to submit their best name choices in a contest which begins on Wednesday, Sept. 25. Athletic Director Vaughn Williams encouraged students to sign up and suggest a name of the owl when he presented at the Student Government Association meeting Thursday.
“This will be the first owl to be named and it will go down in history,”Vaughn said.
The contest is set to continue for two weeks and submissions will be made at ksuowls.com. The decision to adopt the owl, after much discussion,was finally decided last spring. Born April 8 of this year in New York, it should grow to be six pounds with a 5-foot wing span and a lifespan of about 60 years. The owl will be featured at many events as a regular attendee of
KSU games and will be available for fan photos. Videos and news of the owl can be seen at ksuowls.com.
