A History of Mascots at the University of Vermont

The University of Vermont (UVM) has a rich history, and its mascot is no exception. The official UVM school mascot is the Catamount, an animal unique to Vermont. Communication sciences senior Kim Sanzo noted, "It’s cool that we have an animal that’s unique to Vermont history and no other state can claim it as their mascot. I think it was chosen because it was a fierce animal that was representative of Vermont."

The Catamount: A Symbol of UVM

Since that vote in 1926, the University of Vermont athletic teams have been nicknamed the Catamounts after a legendary mountain cat found in the state's Green Mountains. The Vermont Catamounts are the varsity intercollegiate athletic programs of the University of Vermont, based in Burlington, Vermont, United States.

The UVM men's soccer team became Division I national champions with the nickname "Cardiac Cats," reflecting their propensity for late-game winning goals.

What is a Catamount?

The lower-case catamount is another name for the American panther, cougar, mountain lion, painter, and puma. Merriam-Webster's dictionary traces the name "catamount" to 15th-century Middle English. The Spanish, who encountered this type of cat in the 16th century, called them "gato monte" (cat of the mountain), according to the San Diego Zoo. The word "puma" is an Incan word for the animal, and "cougar" is thought to be derived from another native South American word, "cuguacuarana."

Catamounts are known for their jumping ability. They can jump eighteen feet straight up into a tree, making them good role models for basketball players.

The Extinct Catamount of Vermont

The last confirmed sighting of a catamount in Vermont was on Thanksgiving Day, 1881. A man named Alexander Crowell shot and killed it, a common practice at the time to protect livestock. The carcass was stuffed, and people paid to see it. The stuffed catamount is now in the Vermont History Museum in Montpelier.

While catamounts were hunted out of existence in Eastern North America, they still range from British Columbia to Argentina, with some hold-outs in Florida.

From Charlie and Kitty to Rally Cat

The current mascot, Rally Cat, was not always the UVM mascot. There have been a few mascots that have graced the Gutterson gymnasium before Rally assumed the position.

Prior to the 1980s, Charlie Catamount was the official mascot, according to Director of Student Life Pat Brown, who has been with the University for 30 years. In the early ‘80s, after a grad student project said that the mascot was not very visible, Charlie and Kitty Catamount were created - emphasizing gender equality in the mascots. The Catamount mascot used represented by Charlie and Kitty Catamount - personas embodied by students who wore catamount suits.

Charlie and Kitty Catamount lasted for a period of time, and then the athletic department looked to re-brand its image. Assistant Vice President for Marketing and Business Development Chris McCabe said, “Rally is about six or seven years old. We did a brand overhaul a few years ago in athletics. There was a number of reasons for changing mascots.”

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McCabe said, “The idea of a male and female mascot - that was somewhat not the norm. Our females on campus didn’t want to be known just as Lady Catamounts; it’s a ‘We’re all Catamounts’ type of spirit."

The athletic department has been careful about how to update the school mascot, while still keeping a sense of tradition and school spirit. Krista Balogh, communications professional in the athletic department, said, “Rally came to be when we looked at re-branding our logo. It went very well when we inducted the other mascots into the hall of fame.” Balogh said, “Rally has become quite popular and more visible than Kitty and Charlie were.”

One of the goals of the athletic department was to make Rally more visible, not just at athletic events, but at school wide and community events as well. McCabe said, “One of our goals was much more student involvement. Rally could be something Charlie and Kitty couldn’t.”

Rally Cat: Embodiment of School Spirit

Rally Cat, to most students, brings to mind images of a friendly, oversized Catamount, slapping high fives to kids and messing up the hair of college students who eagerly attend hockey games and show their school spirit.

This past weekend, Rally was at the Penguin Plunge for the Special Olympics. Balogh said Rally has become a consistent presence at all different events and has taken on a person of his own. Balogh said, “Rally is at all of our athletic and special events. We incorporate him not only into all home game activities but around our campus, road games and special events with in our community.”

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According to Balogh, “Rally is a mascot which represents our mission and vision, has great sportsmanship and a positive energy.” McCabe agreed, "[With a mascot we try to] promote school spirit - Rally personifies that. Rally symbolizes the fun associated with athletics and school spirit.”

The Secret Identity of Rally Cat

The athletic department prefers the identity of Rally to remain quiet. Michael Marfione, who works for Athletic Communications, said, “We keep the identities of our Rallys a secret.” The department hires students and athletes to perform as Rally but maintains an air of mystery about who is really underneath the suit. Even though we don’t know Rally’s true identity, the fans react no differently.

McCabe said, “Our students have really embraced Rally and like when the character is around. [They are] fellow students in the suit. We are not hiring professional actors. When you see Rally crowd surfing, it’s a student. To me, that’s what mascoting is all about.”

Students can become Rally by being involved in Student Life or working with the athletic department. Marfione said, “We run over the guidelines and rules about being Rally Catamount. If the prospective Rally has a successful tryout and agrees to the guidelines and rules, we will then start to schedule them in for some games and outside events.”

McCabe says its not easy being a big cat. He explained, “Taking care of Rally is a big job. We have two different suits so Rally can be in two places if need be. Krista Balogh and Michael Marfione [in the athletic department] coordinate Rally’s day.”

On game days the schedule can get pretty hectic. McCabe said, “It’s a specific schedule and protocol. Rally comes out and skates and brings the flag out, and that’s symbolic that its time to go.” The fans go wild and the game begins.

Catamount fans agree that Rally gets the crowd going at games and events. His high fives and crowd surfing make it worth the wait to get tickets for popular home games.

A Live Catamount: Rink

For a brief time between 1968 and 1969 UVM had a live mascot named "Rink". Rink was a puma cub born in captivity at a Peoria, Illinois zoo and owned by avid hockey fans Nancy and Robert "Tiny" Leggett, of South Burlington, VT.

In fall of 1968, the UVM Student Association and Athletic Council both gave Rink the official distinction as UVM’s mascot. The students formed a Catamount Committee that established a fund to help the Leggetts keep up with Rink’s quickly growing appetite and upkeep. Growing from ten to 150 pounds in the nineteen months that the Leggetts cared for him, the cat had become too much of a burden.

The Vote of 1926

On February 6, 1926, The Vermont Cynic asked the University of Vermont undergraduates if they would like to have a mascot. The choices offered up by ballot were a tomcat, camel, cow, or catamount. The Vermont Cynic reported that the "men students" chose the catamount mascot, over the lynx, by a vote of 138 to 126. Other options considered were cows, the camel, the tom-cat and no mascot at all. UVM had admitted women since 1872 but was just beginning, reluctantly, to allow women to study at the medical school in the 1920s.

One of the concerns about the nickname published at the time was that it was too long of a word.

Traditions and Spirit at UVM

Chartered in 1791, the same year that Vermont became the fourteenth state in the union, the University of Vermont was established. The university is popularly called UVM, a derivation of its Latin name, Universitäs Viridis Montis, the University of the Green Mountains.

The University of Vermont is an educationally purposeful community seeking to prepare students to live in a diverse and changing world, with values of respect, integrity, innovation, openness, justice, and responsibility.

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