Our tiger mascot has evolved a lot since we became the Tigers in the mid 1950s. Ever since his inception, our costumed mascot, now RITchie, has been a staple at sports games and special events around RIT.
There were early costumed mascots that looked more like pajamas than the felt-and-foam heads we’re used to seeing now.
No matter how he looked, he was always getting into antics! We see him dunking a basketball, intimidating a ref after a bad call, and even skydiving into a soccer game!
Student curators Christis Shepard and Wilson McDade interviewed Paul Tracy, who was RITchie for a number of years in the late 1980s. Paul was also gracious enough to share a compilation of clips featuring him as RITchie.
A cute video compiled by Paul Tracy depicting him as RITchie, walking around campus and getting into shenanigans
For years, RITchie was a program run by the Alpha Phi Omega Service Fraternity -- the same group who adopted SpiRIT in the 1960s.
Paul Tracy, RITchie from teh 1980s, describes how his "big brother" lineage in the Fraternity was the one responsible for being RITchie.
Paul shares a story of going out as RITchie for Halloween. He says RITchie got a bunch of candy!
Paul shares the "secret sauce" -- tips he was passed down on how to be a good mascot.