Sam the Minuteman is the

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 ...

of the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, ...

, representing the University and its athletic teams on campus and in the community. Sam is also integral in the operation of the marching band. Sam placed second in the 2005 Capital One Mascot Of The Year competition, behind to

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

Herbie Husker Herbie Husker is the oldest current mascot of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Herbie was created by Lubbock-based artist Dirk West and first appeared on the cover of the Huskers' media guide in 1974. Soon after, he became the university's official mas ...

. Sam has also finished in the top ten at the National Cheerleading Association's Mascot Nationals for the last four years. He was also named the Mascot of the Month by Playboy.com in October 2005. Sam was featured in a '' This is SportsCenter'' commercial, knocking a tennis ball away from

Andy Roddick Andrew Stephen Roddick (born 30 August 1982) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is a major champion, having won the 2003 US Open. Roddick reached four other major finals ( Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009, and the US Ope ...

, presumably from frustration over the sound of the ball hitting the racket. Sam was also featured in a

SportsCenter ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is a daily sports news television program that serves as the flagship program and brand of American cable and satellite television network ESPN. The show covers various sports teams and athletes from around the world and o ...

commercial in August 2009 involving the team status of NFL quarterback

Brett Favre Brett Lorenzo Favre ( ; born October 10, 1969) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. Favre had 321 consecutive starts from 1992 to 2010 ...

where Sam is shown holding either one or two lamps, to indicate his status as retired or not.Sam The Minuteman's Excellent ESPN Adventure - University of Massachusetts Official Athletic Site
Umassathletics.com (2009-08-19). Retrieved on 2013-11-10. The commercial was a play on the

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and '' Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely trans ...

poem, ''

Paul Revere's Ride "Paul Revere's Ride" is an 1860 poem by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow that commemorates the actions of American patriot Paul Revere on April 18, 1775, although with significant inaccuracies. It was first published in the January 18 ...

''.

References

Atlantic 10 Conference mascots University of Massachusetts Amherst {{mascot-stub