Jonathan the Husky riles the crowd up at UCONN. Photo submitted by Micki Fahner.

(Disclaimer: Most universities like to keep the real names of their current mascots anonymous. In order to accommodate anonymity, the names in the story have been altered.)

They’re at every game. They run, they jump, they dance…they’re the mascots.

But for the students inside the hot, heavy suits, the responsibilities go far beyond just pumping up a crowd.

“There’s more to this job than people realize,” said Andrew Gomez, who plays Jonathan the Husky at University of Connecticut. “You’re the face and the ambassador of your school. You carry the whole crowd. The entire atmosphere of the game can change with the mascot.”

Gomez, who is a sophomore at UConn, is one of several students that play Jonathan the Husky.

In addition to being the mascot, Gomez is a Residence Advisor. While he acknowledges that it can be a lot to juggle, he said he wouldn’t trade his mascot role for anything.

“Not too many people can say they experienced a national championship game and have been the mascot for that,” Gomez said. “Honestly, it’s the position of a lifetime.”

While Gomez said he loves his job, he admits there are some less glamorous aspects of the position.

“You sweat a lot,” he said. “You probably loose a good pound every time you wear the suit.”

Rachel McCray, who is Wilma the Wildcat at the University of Arizona, agrees that while she loves the job, it has its challenges.

“It’s not a job for someone that’s claustrophobic. You can be in a head for up to one hour, or more,” McCray said. “Sometimes you get ready in the most awkward little tent-RV things so people can keep you under wraps until you come out.”

McCray said the job is physically demanding. At the University of Arizona, the student mascots are responsible for the same workouts as the cheerleaders. They have a mandatory two-hour workout with the athletic trainers three times a week.

Between practices and games, it adds up. She said it is a time consuming job and, at times, it can take its toll on her social life.

But for McCray, the benefits far outweigh any downsides, especially when it comes to the charity side of the position.

“Getting to go to one of our children’s hospitals here in Tuscon and visiting a five-year-old that has Cerebral Palsy, and making him want to play sports again so that he can come to a football game with Wilma and Wilber, that’s priceless,” she said. “That’s the best part.”

For any student playing a mascot, maintaining anonymity is a major part of the job.

“Nobody can know. That is a part of my everyday life,” McCray said. “It’s lying to other students and teachers, and not letting it catch on who we are. We really live under an alias of just being an athletic intern.”

The student that plays Duke’s mascot, the Duke Blue Devil, was so concerned with staying anonymous that he agreed only to do an interview for this story via e-mail with a nameless address.

The only thing he would reveal about his identity is that he is a 21-year-old male student.

He said it is important that the identities of students playing the mascot are kept a secret so that there is continuity from year-to-year, and people see only the character, not the person inside. But, for him, the secrecy is what makes it fun.

“I’m kind of like Clark Kent. I need to keep coming up with good excuses for why I’m not at certain events,” he said. “Having a secret identity is highly underrated.”