Choosing a School Mascot

Imagine… it’s gameday at your school. Anticipation and excitement flood the halls as students walk from class to class. At the end of the school day, there’s a large pep assembly with celebratory activities to wish your team the best. The stands are dotted with students wearing your school colors and chanting your team to victory. Besides the players and cheerleaders, who is responsible for pumping up school spirit and securing that win? Your school mascot.

To construct and choose a perfect custom school mascot, there’s a lot to consider. How will your mascot costume be designed? Does it fit within your school’s budget? How long will the costume last? With over 45 years of experience in creating school mascots, Olympus Mascots has compiled six items to consider when choosing a school mascot. Get ready to excite your students, staff, and the community with your custom school mascot!

1. Mascot Character Design

Whether you are designing university mascots, high school mascots, or middle school mascots, consider how you want your character to be interpreted. Is your character fiery and fierce or are they friendly and huggable? By considering your custom mascot’s design, you can better fit them into your school’s unique culture. If you’re looking for mascot character design ideas, we recommend using your school’s logo as a starting point. For more character design ideas, check out our mascot gallery.

2. Mascot Costume Material

From foam to plastic, mascot heads and costumes can be made from various materials. Make sure you determine how your school mascot will be used when choosing your costume material. For example, a large foam shape cannot be as active as a bird mascot could. If you are looking for a more active mascot, you may want to consider going with a smaller mascot head. Olympus Mascots also offers many different types of body padding, such as stock muscle padding, sewn-in muscle shirts, or body pods to fit your school’s unique needs!

3. Choosing a School Mascot Performer

When choosing your school or university mascot, it’s good to have a designated performer who is physically fit and can keep high energy while in the costume. To find the right performer fit for the job, consider holding tryouts. In the mascot design process, it is also important to note that your performer should fit the height range of your costume. For more tips on choosing a mascot performer, check out our blog.

4. The Longevity of School Mascots

At Olympus Mascots, we use quality materials that are built to last. From regular use, school mascots undergo a lot of lugging and tugging, With proper up-keep and maintenance, mascot costumes can last quite a while and are proven to be a cost-effective investment. To ensure longevity, we recommend keeping the costume stored in a safe, dry, and temperature regulated room. Doing so keeps the costume safe and reduces the risk of any sweat turning to mold. Additionally, certain components or accessories can be replaced when needed instead of a complete costume to help reduce costs over time.

5. Mascot Costume Cost

Depending on material, size, and accessories, custom school mascot costs can vary. For a breakdown and estimated price range of custom mascot costs, check out our mascot prices blog. We always try to work with schools to help them stay within their budget. If cost is an obstacle, we recommend using pre-existing head molds or simply starting off with just purchasing a mascot head and wearing it with a team uniform. If you’re looking for mascot fundraising, consider reaching out to alumni and booster clubs to find a sponsor.

6. School Mascot Introduction

Once you have your school mascot, you want it to make a good first impression. Consider how you plan to introduce your mascot to your students, staff, and the community. By putting together an exciting mascot introduction, you can increase school spirit and create a hype around your mascot. If you are looking for new mascot introduction ideas, check out our blog on five fool-proof ways to introduce your mascot.

As you can see, there are many factors that go into constructing university mascots, high school mascots, and middle school mascots. Let our experienced team help you choose the perfect mascot that will have your crowd going wild at every event. Get the anticipation and excitement of gameday every day with a custom school mascot from Olympus Group!