West Virginia University Mountaineer Mascot Michael Garcia will keep the buckskins, coonskin cap and rifle for another year. He was named the Mountaineer Mascot for the 2015-16 school year.
“I have always thought of the Mountaineer as more of an ambassador than a mascot,” he said. “Now, after these months of experience, I am secure and confident in my actions ? I have the energy and personality to reflect the good nature of our people. I am always the Mountaineer: a representative and an ambassador of my home.”
The senior political science major from Fairmont will be the third student in the last decade to keep the mascot title in back-to-back years. He is the 63rd Mountaineer Mascot.
“I cherish the men and women who have worn the buckskins before me as the foundation of this continuing tradition,” Garcia said. “Great things seem impossible until other people have accomplished feats that were not even dreamt up before.”
As the current Mountaineer, Garcia has visited 35 different counties in West Virginia and has represented WVU at more than 200 events throughout the 2014-15 school year in addition to his attendance at many of the sporting events on campus. He has represented the University across the country, too, at Big 12 Conference Football Media Days, at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis and will head to the Big 12 Men’s Basketball tournament next month.
In addition to his role as Mountaineer, Garcia has continued his role in many clubs and organizations on campus over the last year. He’s a member of the Mountaineer Maniacs, the president of Mountaineers Mentoring Mountaineers, a brother of Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity, a brother of Alpha Kappa Psi professional business fraternity and the community service chair of Mortar Board. He has also served more than 100 community services hours in the last year.
His mother, a school teacher, received a master’s degree from WVU, and his older brother and sister also graduated from the University, so his family is rich with Mountaineer pride.
“One of my main goals as the Mountaineer has been to visit and speak with students at more high schools,” he said. “I believe that these young people are on the verge of making some very important decisions that will influence the rest of their lives. I want to be a role model that they can turn to in these difficult times.”
Garcia was announced again as the Mountaineer Mascot at Tuesday’s men’s basketball game vs. Texas. He was selected out of a field of reviewed applicants who went through interview with students, faculty and staff and a cheer-off earlier this month. Garcia will start his second year of duties for the 2015-16 year with the Gold-Blue spring football game in April at Milan Puskar Stadium.
Garcia was chosen from four finalists. The others were: Reed Andrews, a junior chemical engineering major from Morgantown; Ethan Ball, a freshman business marketing major from Princeton; and Troy Clemons, a junior sport management major from Maxwelton.
Keep up with the Mountaineer Mascot by following Garcia on Twitter.
WVU has embraced the tradition of a Mountaineer mascot officially since 1934, but unofficial mascots started appearing at sporting events in the 1920s. There have been 63 different Mountaineers at WVU.
“West Virginia University is a very unique place,” he said. “The people rally behind this institution. They never give up, and they always have high expectations.”
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td/02/24/15
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