Sammy the Owl

Last updated November 29, 2024

Sammy the Owl is the official mascot for the Rice Owls of Rice University.

History

An early symbol of Rice's athletic teams was large canvas owl, a tempting target for Rice Institute's rivals. In 1917, when students from Southwest Conference football rival Texas A&M kidnapped the owl, Rice students pooled their resources and hired a private detective to go to College Station to find the missing mascot. Upon recovering the owl, the detective sent a coded telegram to Houston that read "Sammy is fairly well and would like to see his parents at eleven o'clock," giving the mascot a name for the first time.^[1]

Eventually, the canvas representation of Sammy was replaced with a live owl. During this period, handlers kept Sammy in a roost in front of Lovett College. Prior to football games, Sammy was known to fly into the stadium.

Rice University later discontinued its tradition of a live owl, replacing it with a student dressed in an owl suit. As such, Sammy the Owl is an elected position of the Rice University Student Body.

Notable events

1917 - Canvas depiction of Rice Owl stolen by students from Texas A&M. Mascot is recovered and given name Sammy.
1986 - Sammy the Owl (Truscott) performs world-famous "Shadow the SMU Drum Major" routine at halftime so successfully that letters were written to Rice President George Rupp from SMU officials.
1991 - Sammy the Owl suit reinvented and redesigned to meet the needs of the 6'+ Keith Jaasma and Greg Meeks. Sammy appears increasingly frumpy in subsequent years as normal-size human beings inhabit the suit.
1991 - Sammy's head is stolen during a road trip to UT.
1992 - Keith Jaasma removed from Sammy the Owl duties because he is deemed so attractive that female game attendees stop watching the game and only watch Sammy do his patented Owl Shimmy. Official University records reflect that Mr. Jaasma "graduated" from Rice that year.
1993 - While dressed as Sammy the Owl, Bill Breslin faints at half time during a televised Rice vs University of Texas at Austin football game (at Memorial Stadium), much to the concern of the referees.
1995 - Student Sammy the Owl is tried before UCourt (Rice student judicial organization) on charges stemming from November 9, 1995, football game against No. 9 Texas A&M.
1995 - Sammy the Owl elected homecoming queen.
1996 - Sammy receives a make-over and a new suit is unveiled.
2004 - Sammy the Owl is featured in Playboy Magazine's story on College Mascots^[2]
2006 - Sammy's Owl suit is upgraded.
2007 - Sammy joined Facebook and Twitter
2009 - Sammy is ejected from a basketball game against Tulane for bumping an official.

Other appearances

Sammy the Owl has also served as the image of Rice athletics for many years. Past images have depicted Sammy as wearing a sailor hat. In 1995, the image of the owl swooping in behind the university's name replaced old images of Sammy.

The Rice Thresher awards its annual "Sammies" to the best performances in Rice theater. These awards are given by the Thresher staff without consultation with the mascot but use his name nonetheless. Remarkably, Greg Meeks, Sammy the Owl, 1991-1992 also won a Sammie best actor award for his performance as Richard the Lionheart in 1992.

Sammy the Owl is also the mascot of a fictional high school in the movie Rushmore , filmed in Houston.

Debates Surrounding Sammy

Sammy the Owl is elected annually during the Rice University Student Association's spring election. This practice, however, has been debated since the mid-1990s. In 1995, following an incident during the Rice-Texas A&M football game, the question of who should be responsible for Sammy the Owl was raised. Following much debate, it was decided that Sammy would remain an elected student, but would be formally accountable to the athletics department.

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References

↑ "Rice Traditions". Rice University. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
↑ Playboy.com - On Campus - College Team Mascots - Sammy the Owl - Rice University Archived 2008-07-05 at the Wayback Machine

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[1] "Rice Traditions". Rice University. Retrieved 29 June 2012.

[2] Playboy.com - On Campus - College Team Mascots - Sammy the Owl - Rice University Archived 2008-07-05 at the Wayback Machine

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v t e Rice Owls football
Venues	West End Park (1912, 1914–1915) Rice Field (1913–1949) Rice Stadium (1950–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Houston SMU Texas
Culture & lore	Sammy the Owl "Rice Fight" Marching Owl Band
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

v t e Rice Owls men's basketball
Venues	Tudor Fieldhouse (1950–present)
Rivalries	Houston
Culture & lore	Sammy the Owl Marching Owl Band
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
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