As an employee of the Department of Athletics, you become privy to many things. Among the privileged information, you may become privy to the mascot program. To keep with the spirit of mascotting, please keep their identity confidential and anonymous as you learn the identity of the mascot performers. As students learn the identity of the mascot performers, it tends to spread like wildfire throughout campus, creating issues both at sporting events and throughout campus for the mascot performers, potentially “ruining the magic” for our younger fans.  

As an employee of the Department of Athletics, one of the most common questions you receive is, “Do you know who Willy is?” or “How many mascot performers are there?” These questions can lead to disclosing information you don’t want to and shouldn’t. A great way to answer these questions is to be light-hearted and fun. “I only know of Willy the Wolverine.” or “When you say mascot, do you mean Willy the Wolverine? He’s an animal…” or “Willy the Wolverine is the only Wolverine that I know of.” Any of these or similar answers suffice.  

Quite often, the person asking will try to get you to divulge more information. As the questioner persists, simply tell them that you have committed to keeping the mascot program's identity confidential and that you’re sorry you can’t give them any more information. Regardless of your relationship with the individual asking the questions, DO NOT share any information about the mascot program other than Team Willy’s social media handles.