While squirrels are an iconic part of campus, the furry creature hasn’t yet been deemed the official mascot.

After University Admissions posted pictures of someone dressed up in a squirrel costume, students began to question whether the furry creature was likely to be the University’s next mascot. 

However, a blog post by Admissions Counselor Veronica Greuel clarified the squirrel is not the University’s new mascot, but serves as a “fun (historically relevant) non-mascot personality to greet and welcome our visitors to campus.”

On March 6, Admissions tweeted a picture of a squirrel mascot, captioning it, “You might see this fuzzy creature on campus soon…” The squirrel was seen at an Admitted Students Day event and squirrel t-shirts are given to students who win competitions by Admissions. 

Name suggestions for the squirrel are being taken through Twitter at @uofiadmissions, Facebook and the Admissions blog. 

Doug Burgett, creative director for Enrollment Management, said “Oskee” was an already established name of a squirrel figure on campus, but Admissions wanted to explore other names because some may think the name references the former mascot, Chief Illiniwek. 

“It’s most likely going to be a ‘her,’” Burgett said. “Most mascots are associated with ‘he.’ So, why not a she?”

Squirrels were not as common around campus in 1900 as they are today. In 1901, President Andrew Draper and professor Charles Rolfe proposed a plan to domesticate squirrels to the University’s campus because they thought it would have a positive impact on campus life. In the summer of 1901, the Board of Trustees adopted the plan. 

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