1
Want Tour Name/Address/Phone
Removed from the UNL
Student Directory?
The 1997-98 UNL Student Directory will be on
campus mid-October. Your name, campus
address/phone, and home address/phone will
automatically appear in the directory. If you
don’tfwant to appear in the directory, you must
restr|pt your directory information before
Friday, September 12, 1997. You can restrict
directory information by going to the Records
Office, Service Counter 107C, Canfield
Administration Building. Please have your
student ID available. If you have previously
requested directory restriction on a Change of
Address Form, you do not need to take any
further action. -
!
New mascots prepare for roles,
look forward to rewarding year
I J
By Darren Ivy
Staff Reporter
m _- _• ■
Jeremy Wortman will see his
first action in Memorial Stadium on
Saturday against Central Florida.
But he won’t play for NU foot
ball coach Tom Osborne’s team. V
Instead he will bring smiles and
laughter to 75,000 fans during his
first performance as a mascot.
“I really like getting people
hyped about the school,” Wortman
said. “The mascot was a perfect way
for me to act crazy and get people
hyped.”
Wortman knows the parts of
Herbie Husker and Lil’ Red, but he’s
not allowed to say who he will be
starring as Saturday. The identity of
mascots are to remain secret.
Brad Post and Ryan Fandrich,
both veteran mascot performers,
have been training Wortman and
Ormaun Lewis, another new mas
cot.
Post saicyhe hoped the fans
would not be able to tell the differ
ence between the new and the old
performers.
(Jur goal is to have continuity
with the mascots,” Post said.
UNL Spirit Squad adviser
Renee Black said Fandrich and Post
have done a good job of helping the
new mascots learn movements and
actions.
“What you are doing inside the
mascot looks totally different on the
outside,” Fandrich said. “That is
why it is important to get other peo
ple’s opinions about whether the
moves look good.”
At the time of thq, tryouts,
Wortman and Lewis were room
mates. Lewis said he decided to try
out to support Wortman. Lewis has
not performed yet, but said he will
soon.
Wortman heard of the position
while working in the UNL admis
sions office as a campus recruit last
year. His co-workers told him the
mascot job would be a perfect for
him, Wortman said.
Post, who has been a mascot for
three years, said helping Wortman
and Lewis prepare made him
remember his first time on the field.
“My hair stood on end when
‘Sirius’ came on the loud speakers
and the team ran onto the field,”
Post said. “Two years later, the hair
on my neck still stands when the
team comes out.”
To prepare himself, Wortman
has been thinking of funny things to
do - and drinking a lot of water. He
said that mascots sweat off an aver
age of 10 pounds on a typical game
day.
And inside the mascot costumes
is not always the safest place to be.
The mascots can take a beating
from stubborn children and fans.
For example, when Post was per
forming at an NU basketball NIT
game two years ago, he was almost
pushed over a 15-foot railing by
some opposing fans, he said.
-—---1
Other incidents have not been
quite as scary, Post said, but thS
mascots periodically get kicked and
punched.
Despite the long hours and
abuse the mascots take, they agree
their jobs are fulfilling.
“When I am inside the costume I
like seeing the kids’ faces light up,”
Fandrich said.
Lil’ Red makes big splash
since joining Herbie on field
By Darren Ivy
Staff Reporter
Herbie Husker has been the
official mascot of the University
of Nebraska-Lincoln since the
early 1970s. But since 1993, many
have been drawn to sporting
events not only to see a university
staple, but to see the antics of Lil’
Red.
“Lil’ Red was added for
women’s sports as a pure enter
tainment factor, but he became so
successful that we now use him for
all sports,” said Renee Black, ath
letic licensing coordinator and
spirit squad adviser.
The popularity of Lil’ Red has
grown so much that last year the
UNL Spirit Squad bought another
suit for about $5,000.
The additional suit allowed
Lil’ Red mascots to perform at
more events and gave diem anoth
er suit in case the old one breaks
down, Black said. Last year, the
mascots each made 250 to 300
public appearances.
For their work as mascots, the
four students receive a book schol
arship and a $1,000 reimburse
ment.
Lil’ Red performs at soccer,
volleyball and football games dur- -
ing the fall season and at many
charity events. Black said that Lil’
Red serves as a mini-ambassador
for the university, the city and the
state.
“We chose to perform at chari
ties because it helps give the char
ities a draw,” Black said.
Lil’ Red may be a favorite
among fans, but most of the peo
ple are in the dark about how the
costume works.
The suit acts like an inflatable
mattress, Black said. The student
inside the suit wears a belt with a
battery strapped onto one hip and
L M... ■*.. --i—-ii lilllll— ■ 'll— I
Matt Haney/DN
a blower attached to the other hip.
The student controls how
much air is sucked into the cos
tume by adjusting the blower. The
batteries that operate the blower
last for an hour, Brad Post, a junior
broadcasting major and varsity
Lil’ Red mascot, said.
Post said he can see out of the
costume through a one-way screen
on the front of the suit.
In April, Post took his act to the
National Cheerleaders
Association National
Championships in Daytona
Beach, Fla., and finished in sec
ond place. He lost to the Hokey
Bird from Virginia Tech
University.
Another highlight for Post was
going to Celebrity Mascot
Olympics this summer in Orlando,
Fla. The Olympics featured college
and professional mascots from all
over the country. “I did my head
stand and everyone quit what they
were doing and watched because
most of them had never seen it
done before,” Post said. “It was
kind of flattering.”
HuskerFury membership storms ahead
■ The organization has
found many students
interested in joining.
By Brian Carlson
Assignment Reporter
Three weeks into the academic
year, HuskerFury is gathering steam.
The organization, described as a
VIP group for Nebraska sports fans,
was formed to spark interest in uni
versity athletic events. Students who
pay the $15 membership dues can
receive perks such as reduced ticket
prices, better seating and participa
tion in the group’s events.
About 60 Students attended the
group’s informational meeting
Thursday night in the Nebraska
Union. Barry Swanson, assistant
marketing director for the UNL
Athletic Department, said 120 stu
dents have signed up so far.
Students can join HuskerFury at
any time, Swanson said. He said the
group considered 500 members a
realistic goal for this year.
“We haven’t stopped recruiting
members,” he said. “We’re going to
really hit this aggressively.”
Swanson said the group hoped to
elect its board of directors within
two to three weeks. Once in place,
the group’s leaders and members
will do most of the planning, he said.
Amy Boe, a graduate assistant
with the Athletic Marketing
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■
|i
t „:.j
Department, said the group’s orga
nizers looked forward to seeking
members’ input in planning activi
ties.
“We want our members to do
what they want to do,” she said.
Swanson said HuskerFury would
continue to publicize itself through
advertising, universitywide e-mail
ing and other upcoming events.
r..
« ju. ' ' Xv - *
u
We want our members to do what
they want to do.”
AmyBoe
graduate assistant