Timothy Eads will officially begin his reign as the 2019-2020 Mountaineer Mascot when current Mountaineer, Trevor Kiess, passes the rifle to him in a formal ceremony Thursday (April 11).
The ceremony will take place in the Barnette Board of Governors Room in the Erickson Alumni Center at 4:30 p.m. for a reception and 5 p.m. for the program.
Eads, a sophomore public relations major from Buffalo, was named the mascot during the February 26 men’s basketball WVU-TCU basketball game. His first official appearance as Mountaineer will be at the Gold-Blue Spring Football Game to be held Saturday (April 13) at 1 p.m. at Milan Puskar Stadium.
“Being named the 66th Mountaineer Mascot is truly the greatest honor of my life,” Eads said. “Over the next year, I look forward to the opportunity to don the buckskins and represent WVU, the state of West Virginia, and Mountaineers everywhere, both while in and out of the buckskins. This is something I have dreamed of for quite some time, and I can’t wait to turn my dream into a reality. While serving, I hope to make the University and the state of the West Virginia proud, and show the nation what it means to be a Mountaineer.”
Trevor Kiess, a full-time Master of Business Administration student, is finishing up his term as the 2018-2019 Mountaineer Mascot.
“Serving as the 65th Mountaineer Mascot has been the greatest honor of my life,” Kiess said. “For as long as I can remember, I have always dreamed of representing our great state and University. I have loved showing the entire country what it means to be a proud West Virginian and a passionate Mountaineer this year. I want to thank all of Mountaineer Nation for allowing a kid from Elkins to live out his dreams and for making my time as the Mountaineer all I imagined it would be and so much more. It has been a pleasure working with and getting to know Timmy during his time as the Alternate this past year. As he embarks on this new journey, I am very excited for all that lies ahead for him. He truly understands what the Mountaineer means to West Virginia, WVU, and the entire Mountaineer Family.”
The ceremony will begin with opening remarks from Jayson Hamrick of Mountain Honorary followed by remarks from the following former Mountaineer Mascots: Natalie Tennant, Michael Garcia, and Brandon Flower. Kiess will have an opportunity to speak about the experience of serving as the 2018-2019 Mountaineer, followed by Eads who will speak about his expectations. Closing remarks will be given by Julie Merow of Mountain Honorary.
The public is invited to attend this event. For questions, contact Sonja Wilson, Senior Advisor/Mountaineer Mascot Program at Sonja.Wilson@mail.wvu.edu or 304.293.8230.
For more information on the tradition of the Mountaineer mascot, visit http://mountaineer.wvu.edu