By: Claire Fisher, Features Assignment Editor
Photo Courtesy of the St. Bonaventure University Instagram
Who is the person underneath the costume of Reilly the Bona Wolf, the Bonaventure mascot? While the student identity still remains confidential, they have agreed to release some information about their involvement with the position.
When Team Bonas sent out the call for mascots at the basketball games, the current official student mascot reached back out right away.
“I am just a volunteer,” they said. “When Team Bonas had put a poll out on itsInstagram of who wanted to be the Bona Wolf, I was one of the only Bona Students that selected ‘Yes’.”
The Bona Wolf does not originate with the current generation of Bonnies. After decades of other emblems as the mascot, Bonaventure chose the depiction of the wolf based on the historic encounter of the encounter St. Francis had with the wolf in Gubbio, Italy.
The student sees the mission of the mascot is to attend the Division I basketball games to boost crowd morale.
The mascot works on the ‘Big Shoe Shootout,’ ‘T-Shirt Time,’ and the ‘Pizza Time’, all done during timeouts to keep the fans engaged. The usual station point for Reilly is in the weight-room area of the student section.
“I really want to focus more on crowd engagement and getting more on-screen TV time,” the student said.
Not only does the student work the men’s and women’s basketball games, but other sports like soccer. Additionally, events in the Advancement Office or University Ministries may be done by another volunteer or the official student mascot.
“The mascot really means more to the alumni, community members and kids than it does to the students,” the student said.
However, they want to change this in the future through their own engagement.
“Something that I have been working on is to really push for a better crowd engagement, especially with the students,” they said.
By participating more in student interactions, they hope to make the fans feel like they are a part of the experience.
The role of mascot means a lot to the student behind the mask.
“The number of photos taken with kids, families and alumni is incredible,” they said. “Seeing the smiles and the joy that Reilly brings is so amazing and one of the reasons why I enjoy it.”
While students ponder the identity of Reilly, the student does need to remain anonymous.
However, they offer these three hints as to their identity: The person in the uniform is a student in the school of business, is from New York state and is not a senior.
fisherck21@bonaventure.edu
