Big, blue and bodacious: An inside look at Victor E. Bull

The members of UB’s women’s basketball team weren’t the only ones front and center on national TV last weekend. Victor E. Bull also claimed a place in the spotlight, showing college sports fans across the country what True Blue spirit is all about.

Nailing the balance between fierce and friendly, the blue bovine never fails to get folks pumped up. And not just during tournament play. Victor’s a star at regular season home games and the life of the party at events all around campus throughout the year.

If you’ve ever wondered who’s behind the mask, however, you’ll have to keep wondering.

That identity is kept well protected, according to Elaine Russell, associate athletic director for external relations. That’s because Victor, like any mascot, isn’t about the person inside the costume. He’s there for the team, the fans, the onlookers of all kinds. At games, fundraisers, student orientations and anywhere he goes, his charge is to generate excitement and infuse fun.

Russell has served as Victor’s wrangler of sorts for eight seasons, maintaining a regular roster of capable students who are willing and able to play the role. She says the opportunity is on a strictly volunteer basis. And while there are perks associated with being Victor, there is also a lot of responsibility. A football game, for instance, can last four hours. Add on tailgating and other pregame festivities, and Victor could be looking at an eight-hour workday. In the weeks when football and basketball seasons overlap, things get even busier.

The main requirement for the gig is energy, enthusiasm and the ability to connect with people — without speaking. A few killer dance moves don’t hurt either. While those in the role will often share tricks of the trade with each other, there’s no formal training program, Russell explains.

“Typically, the students who play Victor are the ones who were involved in spirit activities in high school and want to keep it going,” she says. “From there, it’s really a mix of natural talent and learning on the job.”

Jared Gavin served as Victor for almost all of his undergraduate career as a computer science major, from 2015 to 2018. A work-study position his first year gave him a behind-the-scenes look at athletics operations on campus, and when an opening for a new Victor came up, he jumped in.

Being “naturally animated” and having played mascot a few times in high school, Gavin says he didn’t find the role too challenging.

The suit was another story.

“It’s pretty hot in there,” he says, “and hard to hear, and hard to see. The head could start feeling a little heavy after a long day. I definitely developed some unnatural neck muscles during that time.”

Yet Gavin considers playing Victor and hanging with the rest of the cheer team and the band highlights of his college experience. Standout moments include trips to Mid-American Conference basketball tournaments in Cleveland, to NCAA cheerleading tournaments in Tampa, and to the NCAA basketball tournament in Boise in 2018.

“Just being there with the team, being a part of something so big for our school and feeling like I might actually have helped a little bit by cheering them on and getting the crowd pumped — that was the most rewarding part,” he says.

The big blue bull everybody knows and loves today wasn’t always UB’s mascot, however.

Prior to Victor E. Bull’s debut in 1997, a brown bull known as Wooly Bully would hype up the crowds at football games by dancing to the song of the same name after every touchdown.

Before that, there was Buster, an actual live bull that actress Elizabeth Taylor’s then-husband, Mike Todd, presented to UB in 1957. Five succeeding Busters trudged the sidelines until 1970, when the university took a break from NCAA Division I football.

In 2001, Victor’s sister, Victoria Bull, was introduced, though she was apparently put out to pasture around 2007.

Even Victor himself has evolved through the years. Originally more Muppet-like with a big goofy grin, Victor was made over in 2005 with a muscular physique and formidable expression that better matched the power of UB’s student-athletes.

In 2016, he got his start on social media in the form of “Little Victor,” a cartoon icon originally created as a Snapchat sticker by a student assistant working in University Communications. Others helped develop new versions over time, as staff built a collection of GIPHY stickers and GIFs that now populate almost all of the university’s social channels. More than a dozen looks for Little Victor range from basketball player to engineer to Shakespeare.

Whatever iteration he’s in, Victor E. Bull has a special talent for spreading the True Blue spirit.

“At the start of the football games, I’d go running across the field with the cheerleaders, leading on the team. We’d run over to the student section and get the crowd hyped,” Gavin recalls from his days in the suit. “Everyone was always happy to see Victor.”

Editor’s note: For more ways to share UB pride and spirit, visit the True Blue website.