FARMINGTON – When University of Maine at Farmington Athletic Director Julie Davis took the job about eight years ago, the college was without an official mascot costume.
It did, however, have an unofficial one – a beaver suit pulled from the trash that Davis said, “looked more like Planet of the Apes” than a beaver. “It needed to go,” she added.
For years, since Davis put an end to the former suit, UMF students had been asking for a new one, until a few years ago when Davis began seriously looking into purchasing one.
“You’d think it’d be fairly easy,” she said. But most of the costumes she saw when researching on the Internet looked like bears with tails, she said. “As an educator, I wanted to find one that looked more like a beaver.”
Two years after starting her search, after focus group meetings and lots of conversation with athletes, coaches and students, one of Davis’ student athletes found the current suit. It not only looks remarkably like a beaver, but fits the specifications that it be “a family friendly beaver – not too fierce, but not too cute either,” according to UMF Public Relations Director Jennifer Eriksen.
The beaver made its first formal appearance the UMF community this fall at the opening men’s and women’s basketball tournament, Eriksen said. When the suit arrived, she added, there was so much student interest in performing as mascot “they thought they might have to hold tryouts” for the part. But rather than choose just one person to be the as-yet-unnamed UMF beaver, the interested students decided to share the part.
Sophomore Renee Trafton played the part at Thursday night’s men’s basketball game, supported by “beaver escort” Grace Hilman, who also takes turns as the beaver at games. Both said they love “being the beaver.”
“My favorite part it interacting” with the crowd and team pre-game, Hilman said. “It’s kind of fun just being the beaver.”
“And getting everyone pumped for the game,” Trafton said.
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