Rooney is the costumed hawk

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...

of Roanoke

Maroons Maroons are descendants of African diaspora in the Americas, Africans in the Americas who escaped from slavery and formed their own settlements. They often mixed with indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous peoples, eventually ethnogenesi ...

Salem, Virginia Salem is an independent city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,346. It is the county seat of Roanoke County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combin ...

. Officially, Rooney is considered a "Maroon-tailed Hawk" which is "indigenous" to the

area.

Mascot history

Rooney was created in 2009 after the submission of more than 350 suggestions by students, alumni, faculty, staff and friends of the College. From these suggestions, officials narrowed the options to six. These officials consisted of two groups: the Mascot Team, composed of various students, administrators, and alumni, and a professional company who works with mascots and logos. Other options in the final six included Rowie, an anthropomorphic version of the Shenandoah freshwater octopus (Virginia's state cephalopod), and Abe the Ape, based on the indigenous Appalachian highland gorilla. Public comment was also critical in creating the mascot as the process continued. Rooney's last name was officially listed as "Sneed" in some official college pamphlets from January 2010-April 2012, but has not been publicly mentioned since. In 2017, a generous donation to the college lead to the creation of a 14-foot-tall Rooney

topiary Topiary is the horticultural practice of training perennial plants by clipping the foliage and twigs of trees, shrubs and subshrubs to develop and maintain clearly defined shapes, whether geometric or fanciful. The term also refers to plants w ...

that stands between Kerr Stadium and Maxey Hall. Since its creation it has been surrounded by campus legends claiming it to be haunted. While college officials have denied this, the legends were inflamed when the topiary began dying after a campus visit from

Barry C. Knestout Barry Christopher Knestout (born June 11, 1962) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Knestout has been serving as the 13th bishop of the Diocese of Richmond in Virginia since 2017. Previously, Knestout served as the priest sec ...

Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond The Diocese of Richmond ( la, Diœcesis Richmondiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. Its current territory encompasses all of central and southern Virginia, Hampton Roads, ...

. Ever since Roanoke decided upon Rooney as the mascot in 2009, students who have portrayed the bird will wear the costume's feet at graduation to reveal their identity to other students and faculty members. Infamously, in 2015 this tradition was how college officials discovered that no one knew who had been in the Rooney suit for the last four years, prompting an investigation which remains open. Historically, Roanoke College has been known as the Maroons and officials ensured that this will not change due to Rooney's creation.

References

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Roanoke College Roanoke College is a private liberal arts college in Salem, Virginia. It has approximately 2,000 students who represent approximately 40 states and 30 countries. The college offers 35 majors, 57 minors and concentrations, and pre-professional pr ...

Roanoke College Fictional anthropomorphic characters