The ETSU community will soon have a new Bucky, and the lucky candidate will be chosen through the first-ever mascot competition.
“Becoming Bucky” Project Manager Cody Ryans said that about five months ago, he and his team decided to put a new spin on the way ETSU selects its mascot. Eventually, they landed on a “reality-show” approach, which Ryans compares to the “Masked Singer” or “Survivor.”
“We determined that it would be really fun if we could engage students on campus,” Ryans said. “Rather than just doing some sort of internal search committee.”
“Becoming Bucky” has partnered with PartyBucs, to help achieve the highest level of entertainment, community involvement and campus engagement.
Ryans shares that for the applicants, the process begins with the initial audition and interview, which will continue to be held on Feb. 2 and 6 from 1-3 p.m. in the East Tennessee Room in the Culp.
Once auditions are complete, the panel of judges will select five contestants to continue in the competition. From here, the challenge will become an episodic series in the public eye, with the first open event being a dance-off competition on Feb. 10.
Ryans shares that audience input will be crucial to selecting the four candidates who will be remaining in the competition.
The competition will conclude with a mascot obstacle course for the final two participants. The winner, and the campus’s new Bucky, will not only be the new face of campus, but will also be the recipient of a $12,000 scholarship.
ETSU’s new Bucky will be announced on Apr. 18 at the Summit Awards.
“This is new territory for us,” Ryans said. “It’s exciting to see how this is unfolding and seeing if this is something we want to sort of establish as a tradition moving forward.”
Ryans is expecting 15-20 total candidates to audition. The ideal Bucky will have lots of enthusiasm and school spirit, good coordination, as well as be great interacting with families and children.
Ryans adds that the new Bucky must also be dedicated and punctual, as the role requires about a five to 10 hour weekly commitment.
Students interested in auditioning to become Bucky should visit etsu.edu/becomingbucky for more information regarding the application and audition process.
Competition updates and clips will be available on the official ETSU Instagram, Twitter and Tik Tok.
