KSU’s live great horned owl made its debut Saturday in front of a number of students and alumni eager to get a glimpse of the new mascot at Flight Night in the Convocation Center.
Members of the KSU community voted to name the 6-month-old owl Sturgis, after KSU’s first president, Horace Sturgis, who headed the school from 1965 until 1980.
The owl was revealed before the introduction of KSU’s 2013 men’s and women’s basketball teams as part of the university’s homecoming celebration amid an arena-like atmosphere that included loud music, the Atlanta Hawks drumline and glow stick- waiving fans.
Many of the students appeared to be enthusiastic about getting a live mascot.
“If you look at all the big schools, they all have an animal for their mascot,” said Stephen Lococo, a freshman studying International Business.
Sophomore Marketing major Kaitlyn Moore said she thinks having a live mascot will set KSU apart from other universities. “It’ll give us something a lot of schools don’t have,” Moore said.
For his first appearance, Sturgis was revealed to the audience as he perched atop the arm of trainer Daniel Walthers, who has had extensive experience training bird mascots.
While it is unclear what the plan is for a future mascot routine, Sturgis will be available at many of KSU’s upcoming athletic events.
