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, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...

of Roanoke

Maroons Maroons are descendants of Africans in the Americas and islands of the Indian Ocean who escaped from slavery, through flight or manumission, and formed their own settlements. They often mixed with Indigenous peoples, eventually evolving into ...

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 combine ...

. Officially, Rooney is considered a "Maroon-tailed Hawk" which is localized entirely to the college campus.

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. 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,

Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond The Diocese of Richmond () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in Virginia in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Baltimore. The diocese's current bisho ...

. 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 university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Salem, Virginia. It has approximately 2,000 students who represent approximately 40 states and 30 countries. The college offers ...

Fictional hawks Bird mascots Mascots introduced in 2009 Roanoke College Anthropomorphic birds