Although the Marion campus of Ohio State is on the prowl for a new mascot name, there is no need to worry about Brutus’ existence. The new mascot name will be put into place only at the Marion campus of OSU.
Two years after the Marion campus adopted the Scarlet Wave name, they announced the emergence of their team’s new mascot – the shark.
“The overall goal was to have a mascot available that could get into the school, local community events, such as parades and of course, athletic events,” said Wayne Rowe, Marion campus spokesman. “Community outreach is important to us, and we felt having the availability of a mascot on the Marion campus would help us reach the children in the area.”
The shark mascot is generically termed “sharky,” until the university community creates a more original name. To persuade the university’s creative minds, the Marion campus is holding a naming contest that will run until mid-April.
Even though the Marion campus has a new mascot, they have the same sense of Buckeye pride as any other devoted member of OSU’s staff, faculty or student population has.
“Don’t get me wrong; we are the Buckeyes. We love the Buckeyes,” Rowe said. “We just need to get our student-athletes recognition for their team accomplishments.”
Columbus campus students feel that giving the Marion campus their own mascot is a good idea as well.
“I think it’s probably an honor for OSU athletes to identify with this university in general,” said Catherine Sisk, a senior in marketing at the Columbus campus. “But it’s also a good idea to differentiate the branches from each other because although we’re all Ohio State, the athletes don’t all physically go to the same school or play with the exact same teammates.”
Many Marion campus students are pleased with the mascot’s arrival.
“I think that it is great that OSUM has their own mascot,” said Chris Plough, a junior in criminology at the Marion campus. “Even though we are a part of the same university, OSUM does have their own basketball team that is not connected with main campus, so now they have a mascot that can be at their games.”
Besides the shark, other mascots such as a possum, a surfer and a pirate also were considered, but the shark ultimately prevailed.
“What’s really interesting is it is my understanding that most of Ohio used to be covered by ocean. So, although it seems strange to have a shark as a mascot, we like to think of him as a kick back to millions of years ago,” Rowe said. “If that’s not a plausible theory, then he’s just a lovable land shark with an appetite to make people smile.”
