EDITOR’S NOTE: The students who serve as Testudo have been given alternate names to protect their anonymity.

While Testudo may be the singular face of university athletics, three students commit their energy and school spirit to bringing the mascot to life.

Dragging the huge duffel bag containing the Testudo costume, these students sneakily enter venues, trying to avoid revealing their human identities. The mascot actors are required to keep their side job a secret, meaning they must change into their gear in hidden storage rooms and try to ensure no one sees their transformation before the big game.

“We want to keep Testudo’s identity distinct from the identities of those who play him,” said Richard, a Testudo actor. “In the suit, you get to emerge a completely different person.”

The senior mechanical engineering major has filled the plush Terrapin costume since the spring 2010 semester, after several members of the cheerleading team convinced him to audition.

“Being the mascot is a way to stay involved at the university and be more than just a fan,” Richard said. “You get to be the embodiment of the character and the representative of school spirit.”

Another Testudo, Aaron, got the job in May 2011, the second time he tried out. The senior biology major had “always wanted to be Testudo” after starting out as his high school’s mascot.

Once inside the terrapin costume, students are not able to speak, but must use body language to make jokes and communicate with the crowd. According to the mascot actors, it is an additional 40 degrees hotter in the suit than it is outside, making physical activity even more difficult. Though they agree the suit is comfortable, they usually leave games drenched in sweat. Some students have even passed out from the heat before events have ended.

“We are allowed to take breaks whenever we need to, but I usually leave feeling pretty sore,” Richard said. “Sometimes, after a game, you have to say ‘no’ to people wanting pictures because of it. We aren’t being rude; we’re just exhausted.”

Cheerleading coach Jamie Little said spreading school spirit and pumping up the crowd is no easy feat for the students who fill the costume, and it requires both physical endurance and acting.

“The person who plays Testudo has to be very physically fit and have the ability to improvise,” said Little. “They have to be fun and creative, and be willing to totally commit to the character.”

The mascot is obligated to be at every football and basketball game, along with all of the Olympic sporting competitions, and also makes other requested appearances on and off the campus, including weddings and club events.

There are currently three students who commit to being Testudo, but ideally, the athletic department likes to have four to six students in order to further split the responsibilities, Aaron said. Little, other cheerleading coaches and the current Testudos extended video tryouts for the position until Friday.

“There are so many demands and events that Testudo has to meet, so the student must be willing to make this a No. 1 priority,” Little said.

Video tryouts are relatively new; the NCAA now requires all sports participants, including mascots, to have physical and sickle cell testing before live tryouts. This hurt the turnout for Testudo tryouts, so the cheerleading coaches changed the tryouts to a video format, and participants do not need these forms before auditioning. However, this change has not successfully increased student interest in being Testudo.

“I think that the video tryouts have been less popular because of the lack of publicity,” Aaron said. “We definitely have not gotten the word out about tryouts as much as we used to.”

Though being Testudo takes commitment and hard work, those who play him get many opportunities most non-costumed students wouldn’t receive; for example, Richard starred as Testudo in an ESPN commercial last year. Both students also agreed the rush of being Testudo gives them a sense of accomplishment.

“It’s still crazy to me that I get to dance in a spotlight in the middle of Comcast Center in front of 20,000 people,” Aaron said.